"Real pedophila is sex with a child, sex with a physically mature teenager may be unethical but it is not pedophila."

It's not pedophilia only if the girl or boy said she/he was over 18, and a reasonable person would have reason to believe him/her.

Personally (before I was married) I wouldn't have sex with anyone until I learned enough about them, like how mature they really were. I have nothing against one-night-stands in the legal sense, but I highly recommend against them.

"Everyone used to get married at 16, now having sex with a 16 year old makes you a child molester"

Yeah, in the 19 century 16 years old girls did get married too often, and that's not an era I want to return to.

Yes, having sex with a minor makes you guilty of child molesting and/or statutory rape!!!

If your girlfriend/boyfriend is a minor, wait till your girlfriend/boyfriend turns 18.

18 is, in my opinion, the youngest age at which a person is capable of taking responsibility on sexual issues, but I recommend that 18 year olds not have sex until after they have graduated from high school.

In America the consent laws are written by each state. In the state that I am resident of the legal age of consent is 18, and I think that should be the law for the whole country. But your right, some states do have consent laws that allow 16 or 17 year olds to give consent, but none list an age of consent as lower than 16. In any case a lot of the 16 year old consent laws are intended for minor on minor sex only.

And Child pornography is illegal everywhere in the country.

No where in America is under age (18) prostitution or stripping legal.

And the legal age of consent for all us citizens outside of the United States is 18. And it is illegal for all Americans to have sex with anyone under the age of 18 anywhere outside of America.

The age of consent laws are not designed to be used against minors that have sex, but against the men and women who violate minors' inability to give consent. A minor will not go to jail because she or he has had sex, but their over 18 boyfriend or girlfriend might (and if any adults ever have sex with my underage son or daughter, then I am going to see to it that they go to jail).

Actually I am in favor of making cannabis legal, though I have no intention of ever using pot, for medical reasons, as long as the cannabis is not sold over the counter. But all the other anti-drugs laws should remain, but I would like to see enforcement focus more on illegal distribution and on overseas diplomacy against trafficking, rather than on usage.

I don't think 18 is too high, I think 16 is too young, and yes, I want to shame every adult that violates a minor's inability to give consent.

AKA Smith, I agree with you about consent, except the 14-16 year old part. I would call CPS if the parents were aware that it was happening and did nothing about it, because teenage pregnancy is really endangering the teenagers, especially if the teenagers are between the ages of 14-16. Teenage pregnancy is just too scary, and no form of birth control is 100% (other than abstinence and sterilization). But I do think that minors engaging in sex with other minors should not be punished by the law, and neither should their parents, unless they had consciously condoned the sex.

And I still recommend that all 19 year olds with 16 year old girlfriends or boyfriends wait until their girlfriends or boyfriend turn 18 before having sex, or at least until they finish high school.

17-21 year olds having sex doesn't sound unreasonable, but only if the 17 year olds are mature enough, but level of maturity can't really be mandated by law.

BTW I am in favor of abstinence for minors under the age of 18, but I am against abstinence training for exactly the reasons that you mentioned AKA Smith. Because abstinence training pressures girls into believing their bodies and virginity belongs to their parents.

Also I think sex only after marriage is bad advice. Some women meet their prince at their first kiss, but most women have to kiss a few frogs before they find their true love.

"If my teenage daughter was having sex at this age and I thought my asking her to stop would have no effect, I would get her on birth control pronto. Something like the patch. Would that be condoning sex?"

No, I would consider that being cautious, and doing what was the responsible thing to do (and my mother basically did the same thing with my sister). Teenage sex isn't a new thing, kids have been having sex since the dawn of humanity, but we certainly should not encourage it. I probably should have used the words "encouraging recklessness without responsibility regarding the sex" instead of "condoned the sex."

I called CPS once in my life, and the experience was horrible, but the situation was getting out of hand. Calling CPS is a judgment call that no one should take lightly.

But teenage sex between 14-16 year olds is a matter that you can't take lightly. If I knew of a teenage couple under the age of 17 having sex, the first thing I would do is talk to the parents about it, and if I felt that the parents were not showing enough caution and responsibility on the issue, then I would call CPS.

Word of warning though; My sister had gotten pregnant despite using the BC pill.