What I don't understand is why we have statutory rape laws while also accepting sexual activity amongst minors. Is it OK for two 15 year olds to get it on? Pregnancy and STDs are still an issue.

You bring up the example of the 14 year old girl who looks adult, is seeking sex, but has a 14 year old brain. All the laws do is determine from whom she can legally get sex, STDs, and pregnant. Under current laws, the only prey that can legally respond to her are other children. It doesn't make sense that anyone would trot out teen pregnancy rates or infection data when discussing statutory rape laws. The kids have proven themselves quite proficient at impregnating and infecting each other.

How do we justify laws that do nothing more than select sexual partners?

Your contention appears to be that sex between children is pure and innocent. It isn't. The reason that "35 year old teacher" is preying on that little girl is because he hasn't emotionally matured. In other words, he's thinking like a 15 year old boy.

Your argument also seems to be that you would prefer that children be preyed on only by other children. Also, that no adult should be allowed to be successfully preyed on by children.

I agree that it is good to limit the number of people who prey on children. An arbitrary age restriction is as good as anything.

It's the "children" who like seducing adults that worry me. The current laws actually seem to encourage such behavior. Perhaps we need an entrapment or enticement addendum to the statutory rape laws to protect adults. Charging minors as conspirators has already been tried and defeated.

The brown shirt category need not be limited to low level nazi goons. Instead, define a brown shirt as anyone who internalizes the propaganda of some leadership group. They act with the ruthless and mindless certainty that god/nature/science/morality/pragmatism is on their side.

Every movement needs brown shirts. Far left idealists were obama's brown shirts before their post election disillusionment. Evangelicals were bush's brown shirts and have redirected their adoration to the now nebulous conceit called the republican party. Every movement needs brown shirts. The successful movements have them.

An accusation of being a brown shirt, it isn't an accusation of fascism. It's an accusation of low rank and muddled thinking.