In the state of Georgia the age of consent (the age at which you can have sexual intercourse with another person) is 16. This seems unreasonably high considering by the age of 16 a teenager should have already made other major life decisions such as trying cigarettes, drinking and smoking pot. According to an article published in February by the Guttmacher Institute “On average, young people have sex for the first time at about age 17.”
If this is true, why do we need a law to restrict the minority of making their own mistakes? I have learned more from my own mistakes than the mistakes of others. The life lessons my parents tried to teach me did not sink in until my teenage years when I made my own decisions and had to accept the consequences of my own actions. This opportunity should be given to all teenagers in all facets of their lives. Sex is approached in health classes with the same style as issues with drugs and other high-risk behaviors. Isn’t that effective enough?
I believe wholeheartedly in the abolition of such an archaic and useless law as the age of consent. Teens already demonstrate their superb reasoning and decision-making skills through shows like “16 and Pregnant” or “Teen Mom.” Obviously these young men and women can raise a child with the same love and support as any 20-something-year-old. This means they should have the same rights as any other adult, including drinking, smoking, and driving.
Now some may ask, “but Greg, I know how I acted at 16, I was totally not ready for such a big life decision.” To this I respond: first, if you had sex when you were sixteen than you obviously made the decision whether or not you thought you were ready; second, think about the high-risk behaviors you were participating in. Many states now offer preliminary licenses at the age of 16 or even younger. According to the Rocky Mountain Insurance Information Association there were 3,466 teenage deaths from motor vehicle crashes in 2009. I couldn’t find any statistics on sex related teenage deaths, but I don’t imagine it can be too many. Given these statistics, it is obvious that driving is more dangerous than sex. However, we allow teenagers to drive at the same age that we allow them to engage in sexual relations.
The reality of the situation comes to this: why do we allow teenagers to make life-altering decisions with a one-ton vehicle but not genitalia? I would rather trust my son or daughter (god forbid I have children) with his or her own sexual relations than in an SUV next to me on the road. I ask you to honestly consider the question of whether sex is more dangerous than cars, drugs or cigarettes. When you come to the right conclusion you will realize the need for the abolition of the age of consent law.
I can’t believe of all the issue people have that the opinion that people should be allowed to have sex younger is one that was good enough to publish. The statement that “I have learned more from my own mistakes than the mistakes of others.” is one of the poorest reasons I’ve heard for any argument. If our health classes are effective enough I’d like to see all the stats for the USA being among the lowest compared to others but I don’t think that’s the case. Georgia has the eighth highest rate of teen pregnancies in the US. “Teens already demonstrate their superb reasoning and decision-making skills through shows like ’16 and Pregnant’ or ‘Teen Mom’.’ is another laughable quote. The last thing Georgia, or the United States, needs is for teenagers to start reproducing more than they already are. It hinders the teen parents from getting a higher education, it’s a burden on the teens family, and it’s a burden on the rest of society that has to take care of them. In closing, “Why do we allow teenagers to make life-altering decisions with a one-ton vehicle but not genitalia?” STDs, AIDS, and the burden on society. Yes it’s true that not nearly all teens will get pregnant, get an STD, or AIDS while being a teenager, but they also wont kill them self or someone else driving. Three quarters of a million teens, aged 15-19, get pregnant each year with 82% of them not intending to. Young people, aged 15 – 24, have four times the reported Chlamydia and Gonorrhea rate than the total population and two times the syphilis rate of the total population. On the other hand, people aged 16 – 19 only make up 8.1% of all fatal car accidents and is only slightly higher than the rate fatal accidents of drivers aged 20-24. So when you come to the “right conclusion” you will realize you should keep your opinions to yourself. Sources of numbers from census.gov, cdc.gov, and womensissues.about.com.
I honestly hope this was an article to get a reaction because it makes me wonder if Greg just wants to have sex with someone under the age of 16.
Honestly, it’s like Greg has no clue why there is such a law.
Greg the law is not to keep 15 year olds from fooling around with 14 year olds, it is to keep 23 year olds from coercing 15 year olds into sex.
Anthony, you’ve hit the nail on the head repeatedly. When he referenced “16 and pregnant ” I almost died laughing, but remembered he may actually be serious.
I think this article is fantastic. Kids are going to do what they want, reguardless of the law. Weed is illegal, are kids not smoking it because of that? No. When I was 15 I had sex with my 17 year old boyfriend, maybe I was too young but I think there are much greater evils that I consented to other than sex. If I ranked the things that affected my psyche as a teenager, sex would be at the bottom.
If a 15 year old and a 14 year old want to fool around, they will, and you’re a fool if you think that a 23 year old won’t just go out and coerce the 15 year old if they want to that badly, not to mention the possibility of rape.
I think other than telling a kid “no, you’re not ready” we should focus on educating the child, give them all of the information and treat them as an adult and allow them make an informed decision. We just tell the kids “no no no, thats bad” so when they do go out and have sex they then internalize that as them being “bad” which will ruin a teens self esteem, creating more dangerous behavior. Teach them the consequences of not using a condom or other methods of birth control, heck, play an episode or two of “16 and pregnant” or “teen mom” in a middle school health class, it will scare the kids to death. Bottom line is that NO kid thinks that it will happen to them, that is where we need to start, and once kids start realizing that they’re not the pretty princesses that mommy and daddy have been treating them like since they were young and they can’t just throw a fit to make things go their way when it comes to pregnancy, STD’s, ect, then we will see some progress.
P.S. yeah, I’m sure the writer just wrote this because he wants to bang a 15 year old. Come on dude, seriously? You’re going to harp on the writer and then say something as ignorant as that?
The world changes once you have your own child. Mr. Bieger, I hope you will actually read these comments because the most important point made by Mr. Anthony and Mr. Crockett both is that there are many, many more sides to your question of “How Young is Too Young?” I wish you would have pondered these a bit more before writing your opinion piece. (STDs, HIV/AIDS exposure in particular, unwanted pregnancies, unnecessary heartache–all are wise things to avoid while still a young person. The sooner you start having sex, the sooner you raise the probability of encountering these heartaches and risks to your life, body and future.)
Regardless, you neglected to point out that the main reason this law is on the “books” is to prosecute child molesters, abusers, manipulators, and any adult that preys on the young. We must use every law available to ensure the prosecution of these people. This very basic law is one that can hold while others can be debated in court. Either the person did or did not have sex with the defined minor.
There are few and far between incidences where someone is actually going to waste their time and money, or the state’s for that matter, on prosecuting a teen who has sex with their girl/boyfriend. What would be the point of that? Really… You need to think beyond your youth, world and cultural inexperience, selfish desires, and solely personal introspection to guide your opinion. Research all perspectives of an issue and look to others more experienced, and many times those people may be older than you, to develop your ideas fully so that they are well-rounded and show that you have actually done your research before free-flowing an article that is due. This is not high school where what you write can come off the top of your head. Your opinion needs to be based on supportive reasoning.
And, I echo your parentheses statement with one adjustment, G-d forbid you have children until you have reached a place where you can look to others’ concerns and needs before your own.