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Elmo the Pedophile

ChrisL said:
Who cares? If this is true and he's messing with children, he needs to GO! Excusing his behavior is no different than what the Catholic Church has done or what Penn State did.
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A 16 year old is not a child.
 
Middleground said:
A 16 year old is not a child.
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A 16-year-old is certainly not an adult, also 16-year-olds are still under the care and are the responsibility of their parents. Parents CAN and ARE held responsible for their "children's" actions. Therefore, a 16-year-old IS a child unless they have been emancipated.
 
ChrisL said:
A 16-year-old is certainly not an adult, also 16-year-olds are still under the care and are the responsibility of their parents. Parents CAN and ARE held responsible for their "children's" actions. Therefore, a 16-year-old IS a child unless they have been emancipated.
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You didn't reply to my post. I said a 16 year-old is not a child. In Canada it is legal to have sex with a 16 year old. Are you saying we are a nation of pedophiles?
 
I have to say that, yes, 16-year-olds ARE still children. Surely, you've been exposed to teen behaviors? I have to question when people refuse to admit that teenagers are still children. They are still children, just at a different level of development.

Discovery Health "Are teens

The part of the teen brain not yet fully developed is the frontal lobe, which is the part of the brain that manages impulse control, judgment, insight, and emotional control. So when teens engage in risky and/or foolish behavior, it's not just that they don't have life experience to know better, but that their brains have difficulty assessing consequences. Basically, teens have less myelin (the fatty coating that surrounds nerve cells). Nerve cells need myelin to send signals throughout the brain. So in teen brains, the synapses that are supposed to connect the frontal lobe to the rest of the brain are not working as well as they should. As a result, teens can't access those skills based in the frontal lobe easily.
 
Middleground said:
You didn't reply to my post. I said a 16 year-old is not a child. In Canada it is legal to have sex with a 16 year old. Are you saying we are a nation of pedophiles?
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Just because the law arbitrarily sets an age on sexual contact, that does NOT mean the law is correct.
 
ChrisL said:
Just because the law arbitrarily sets an age on sexual contact, that does NOT mean the law is correct.
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So, according to you, anyone who has sex with anyone who is still under their parent's care is a pedophile. Gotcha.
 
I wonder why they would set sexual contact age limits at 16, yet 16-year-olds can't fight in wars, can't drink alcohol, cannot drive alone in a lot of places. Also, just look at car accident statistics. IMO, 16 is CERTAINLY too young to be driving an automobile alone. Did you know that car crashes are the number 1 killer of teens? Why that doesn't tell people something, I don't know.
 
Middleground said:
So, according to you, anyone who has sex with anyone who is still under their parent's care is a pedophile. Gotcha.
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That would depend upon the age and mentality difference between the two. I believe that there are limitations in a lot of places in regards to age gaps.

Oh, and perhaps not a pedophile but certainly an ephebophile to be sexually interested in teens. The deviant part about it is that people who are diagnosed with this disorder limit themselves to ONLY this particular age group. The sexual obsession is more with the "youth" of the victim than it is about the victim him or herself. It IS a LEGITIMATE DSM-IV diagnosis.
 
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Middleground said:
A 16 year old is not a child.
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I disagree, a 16 year old is a child in the mind. Just because the body appears like an adult doesn't mean that the person inside has become one.
 
melons said:
I disagree, a 16 year old is a child in the mind. Just because the body appears like an adult doesn't mean that the person inside has become one.
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Exactly. :) It's really not that hard to understand.
 
melons said:
I disagree, a 16 year old is a child in the mind. Just because the body appears like an adult doesn't mean that the person inside has become one.
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How many states have the legal age of consent set at 16?
 
Middleground said:
How many states have the legal age of consent set at 16?
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Federal law

The Federal government has a legal age of consent of 18. This law applies to any actions that take place between different states or on federal property. This makes it a crime to use any form of communication between states to try to get a minor to have sex with an adult. Even if the minor and adult are in the same state, if the communication leaves the state, it is a crime. For example, if both people live in the same state and use an instant messaging program to communicate. If the server used for the communication is in another state, this is a crime.
It is also a crime for a minor to be taken to a different state to have sex. This could happen if the 16 year old lived in a state that had an age of consent of 18 but travelled to a state where the age limit was 16. If the adult travels to a different state or a different country to have sex with a minor, this is only a federal crime if the minor is under the age of 16. It may still be a local crime if the minor was under the age of consent of the state or nation where the sex happened but it is not a federal crime.

Each US state has its own age of consent. State laws set the age of consent at 16, 17 or 18. The most common age is 16.[2]
age of consent 16 (30): Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Connecticut, District of Columbia, Georgia, Hawaii, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Vermont, Washington, West Virginia
age of consent 17 (9): Colorado, Illinois, Louisiana, Missouri, Nebraska, New Mexico, New York, Texas, Wyoming
age of consent 18 (12): Arizona, California, Delaware, Florida, Idaho, North Dakota, Oregon, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania1

1: In Pennsylvania, the age of consent is 16. If the minor is under the age of 18, the adult can be charged with "Coruption of a Minor". This is a misdemeanor. [3]. If the adult is in a position of power (teacher, clergy, or Police for example), this is a felony[4]. Even though the age of consent is 16, it is still a crime until the age of 18. Becase of this, Pennsylvania is normally listed as if it had an age of consent of 18.

Some states have exceptions to the law for people below the age of consent if their partner's age is within a specific range. This range is often between 2 and 4 years. Some states allow minors who are below the age of consent to consent to sex with their spouses if they are married, but not to anyone else.
 
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I want to know why some people are so ADAMANT about 16-year-olds having consensual sex with adults. That's just kind of creepy if you ask me.
 
ChrisL said:
Exactly. :) It's really not that hard to understand.
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Yes, it's not hard to believe that you think that anyone who has sexual intercourse with a 16, 17, 18 and 19 year old is a pedophile (unless you think that a 20 year old is still a child???).
 
Middleground said:
How many states have the legal age of consent set at 16?
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I have no idea, that isn't the point. They aren't adults until they are responsible for themselves, and 16 year old kids are for the most part not.
A 19+ year old who has sex with a 16 year old is illegal in my state. Not sure how other states have it set.
 
ChrisL said:
Each US state has its own age of consent. State laws set the age of consent at 16, 17 or 18. The most common age is 16.[2]age of consent 16 (30): Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Connecticut, District of Columbia, Georgia, Hawaii, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Vermont, Washington, West Virginia
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Wow, sad to see that you Americans are also a nation of pedophiles. Heck, ChrisL, you must be disgusted that your state is pedo heaven.
 
Middleground said:
Yes, it's not hard to believe that you think that anyone who has sexual intercourse with a 16, 17, 18 and 19 year old is a pedophile (unless you think that a 20 year old is still a child???).
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I think a 20-year-old is pretty much still the mental equivalent of a teen, and again you are using the wrong terminology. It is an ephebophile who is sexually attracted to middle to late aged teens. It is a DSM-IV diagnosis. Here, let me show you.

It's from wiki, but everything is referenced.


Ephebophilia is the primary or exclusive adult sexual interest in mid-to-late adolescents, generally ages 15 to 19.[1][2] The term was originally used in the late 19th to mid 20th century.[2] It is one of a number of sexual preferences across age groups subsumed under the technical term "chronophilia". Ephebophilia strictly denotes the preference for mid-to-late adolescent sexual partners, not the mere presence of some level of sexual attraction. In sexual ethics, it may be defined as a sexual preference for girls generally 14–16 years old, and boys generally 14–19 years old.[3] Some authors define ephebophilia as a sexual preference for pubescent and adolescent boys.[4]
In research environments, specific terms are used for chronophilias: for instance, ephebophilia to refer to the sexual preference for mid-to-late adolescents,[1] hebephilia to refer to the sexual preference for earlier pubescent individuals, and pedophilia to refer to the sexual preference for prepubescent children.[5] However, the term pedophilia is commonly used to refer to any sexual interest in minors below the legal age of consent, regardless of their level of physical, mental, or psychological development.[6]
 
melons said:
I have no idea, that isn't the point. They aren't adults until they are responsible for themselves, and 16 year old kids are for the most part not.
A 19+ year old who has sex with a 16 year old is illegal in my state. Not sure how other states have it set.
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To you, does a 16 year old = a child? All I need is a yes or no.
 
Middleground said:
Wow, sad to see that you Americans are also a nation of pedophiles. Heck, ChrisL, you must be disgusted that your state is pedo heaven.
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I am. I believe the age of consent should be 18, unless both actors are minors. I don't believe there is any reason for those over 18 to HAVE to have a sexual relationship with someone under aged.

As a matter of fact, I believe in my state the age of consent (with parental and court permissions) is 12 years old.
 
ChrisL said:
I think a 20-year-old is pretty much still the mental equivalent of a teen, and again you are using the wrong terminology. It is an ephebophile who is sexually attracted to middle to late aged teens. It is a DSM-IV diagnosis. Here, let me show you.

It's from wiki, but everything is referenced.


Ephebophilia is the primary or exclusive adult sexual interest in mid-to-late adolescents, generally ages 15 to 19.[1][2] The term was originally used in the late 19th to mid 20th century.[2] It is one of a number of sexual preferences across age groups subsumed under the technical term "chronophilia". Ephebophilia strictly denotes the preference for mid-to-late adolescent sexual partners, not the mere presence of some level of sexual attraction. In sexual ethics, it may be defined as a sexual preference for girls generally 14–16 years old, and boys generally 14–19 years old.[3] Some authors define ephebophilia as a sexual preference for pubescent and adolescent boys.[4]
In research environments, specific terms are used for chronophilias: for instance, ephebophilia to refer to the sexual preference for mid-to-late adolescents,[1] hebephilia to refer to the sexual preference for earlier pubescent individuals, and pedophilia to refer to the sexual preference for prepubescent children.[5] However, the term pedophilia is commonly used to refer to any sexual interest in minors below the legal age of consent, regardless of their level of physical, mental, or psychological development.[6]
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You wrote:

I have to say that, yes, 16-year-olds ARE still children.
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So what am I not getting?
 
Middleground said:
To you, does a 16 year old = a child? All I need is a yes or no.
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For me, the answer is a big time YES. If you've ever been exposed to 15, 16 and even 17-year-olds, you would realize that they ARE still children. Of course, there are always exceptions but generally speaking, yes 16-year-olds are mentally, emotionally and, yes, even sometimes physically still children.
 
Middleground said:
To you, does a 16 year old = a child? All I need is a yes or no.
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Are you trying to set me up for something? Yes a 16 year old is a child - a more mature child than a 10 year old but still a child.
 
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