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The age of consent is 18 in California.

Thats not a complete answer, however. A 30 year old can't sleep with a 14 year old (unless married). If the person is under 18, the older person can be no more then 4 years her senior. So a 14 year old can sleep with an 18 year old, but not a 19 year old.

Age of consent, in the US changes from state to state and what kind of sex (male-male, male-female, female-female). Male-male sex in New Mexico is consented at age 13!!!! Check out Age of Consent

The age of consent in Canada is 14.
Searching for "age of consent canada" will yield many sites dedicated to trying to get this age raised.

"But the same laws also apply to an 18 year old having sex with his 16 year old girlfriend."

Actually they don't. In most states the age of consent is 16. http://ageofconsent.com/ Yes, some states are still 18, California for example. But most states have written in the law to be reasonable. Since a kid that just turned 18 having sex with his girlfriend who is still 17 and sending him to prison is obviously ridiculous.

Don't talk out of your ass.

Hey Nineteen
No we got nothing in common
No we can't talk at all...

Reading some of the comments got me wondering just what the age of consent is in different states currently.

I found this site http://www.ageofconsent.com/ageofconsent.htm to be quite informative.

According to this, age of consent in India is in fact 16.

Take off that American blindfold of yours.

there are plenty of countries where the age of consent is much much lower.
http://www.ageofconsent.com/

Your culture and views are not globally accepted, and that is how it should be.

I think the key to this is that the crime he is accused of is a crime in the US and Australia. Do we have an established copyright understanding with the US? Yes. Do we have an established extradition treaty with the US? Yes. Could he be tried in Australia for this? Probably. It's now up to the Attorney General do decide whether extradition will proceed. If it doesn't, I'd expect to see a court case in Australia over the copyright transgressions.

Your example of internet sex with a minor is interesting. Not sure if the age you use is relevant because 16 is OK in Australia, and in many states in the US. Let's say 15. The offending Aussie would be in trouble under US laws and Australian laws not because of "virtual sex" (no such crime) but because of "grooming" laws. That would make an extradition application possible.

IANAL. Everything I learned I learned from Law and Order and http://ageofconsent.com/.

Well, the first time I had sex I was 15; this would be legal in 4 states, making it illegal in 47 states (DC isn't a state, I know) - that's PRETTY close to making it a wholesale ban, AND all four states are marked as 14/16 what ever that means (I don't think it means 14/16th years old ;-)

Then there's the other 16-year-old girl I had sex with; at that point I was 21 ... now I don't know how the laws are on that point, but I'm fairly certain someone somewhere would love to incarcerate me for that one ... hehe.

Then there's sodomy laws (oral and anal sex); this is illegal in some states (I have no idea how many), and when I read about Georgia I found out that they have a "law that makes all sexual relationships between unmarried people -- including all gay sex -- illegal"! How's that for progressive thinking? They are right in line with countries like Saudia Arabia and Iran! Half of the AXIS OF EVIL(!!!) is represented in that list for Christ sakes! North Koreas laws aren't listed, so it might be THE ENTIRE AXIS OF EVIL(!!!)

Well, the first time I had sex I was 15; this would be legal in 4 states, making it illegal in 47 states (DC isn't a state, I know) - that's PRETTY close to making it a wholesale ban, AND all four states are marked as 14/16 what ever that means (I don't think it means 14/16th years old ;-)

Then there's the other 16-year-old girl I had sex with; at that point I was 21 ... now I don't know how the laws are on that point, but I'm fairly certain someone somewhere would love to incarcerate me for that one ... hehe.

Then there's sodomy laws (oral and anal sex); this is illegal in some states (I have no idea how many), and when I read about Georgia I found out that they have a "law that makes all sexual relationships between unmarried people -- including all gay sex -- illegal"! How's that for progressive thinking? They are right in line with countries like Saudia Arabia and Iran! Half of the AXIS OF EVIL(!!!) is represented in that list for Christ sakes! North Koreas laws aren't listed, so it might be THE ENTIRE AXIS OF EVIL(!!!)

http://www.ageofconsent.com/ for USA laws regarding acceptable ages..

Gear -- Laptop security hardware

Unless you bring your laptop to every class with you every day, or leave it in your car from time to time, your laptop will be out of your sight for several hours/day. As in, sitting on your desk where your roommate(s) and other dorm buddies might -- if they are the unseemly type -- consider stealing it and selling it while you're gone. In this case, no laptop security hardware will save you -- time is on their side, and your hardware, at best, is a lock strapped to a probably-wooden desk.

That said, a laptop lock is still better than nothing, and for that reason, is worth the investment.

Mostly though, I wouldn't worry *too* much about physical security unless your roommate is untrustworthy. Of course, you won't know that until you've lived with him/her for a few weeks, will you? :)

Now my other subject:

Sanity -- Self-discipline, time-management, and happiness

Here are my 3 main tips:

1) DO NOT SLACK OFF LIKE IT'S YOUR SENIOR YEAR IN HIGH SCHOOL, EVEN FRESHMAN YEAR. Your GPA is King if you want to go on to grad school, med school, law school, etc.. That said, you really only need a minimum of a 3.1-3.2 or so to get into grad school or law school. Med school is harder though.

2) DO NOT SPEND ALL YOUR FREE TIME LEARNING LINUX/*BSD IF YOU HAVE NEVER HAD EXPERIENCE WITH THESE OS'S. They will eat up all your free time (compiling god knows how many libraries you also have to download first, manhandling config files, reading poorly-written documentation, etc.). Learn them over time, but do not live them as I did. OSS is a very small subset of life.

3) DO NOT GET (too) BIG INTO THE CAMPUS LAN-GAMING AND WAREZ SCENES. Warez is too legally-risky these days, and besides, it requires lots and lots of manual searching; Google doesn't cut it here, and thus it takes lots of time to get the philez you want. It usually isn't worth it.

Welcome to the reasons I voluntarily dropped out of a major, well-funded, well-respected 2nd-tier science/engineering university, and will now be finishing up my degree at a shitty, underfunded 4th-tier liberal-arts state school.

Oh, and one more:

4) Don't fall into the "I wanna be a God admin/coder" trap and ignore women (or men, if you prefer) and dating for your 4 years of college. This has been the biggest reason I am a bitter, unhappy man in my early-mid 20s. I am only just now learning how to date women, and am still a virgin. [1] Most guys (about 73%) get laid by the time they're 18. Me? I might as well be a hardcore loony-bin Christian straight-edger waiting until marriage for sex, so far as I count, statistically.

I have a monetarily-successful life (almost certainly) coming to me in spite of all of the above, because I have managed to determine and pull myself up from my failings, but in doing so, like I said, I'm as bitter and unhappy a man as anybody I know.

I have discovered after years of soul-searching that money isn't everything (and if you read my previous posts, you will find that I am a diehard believer in the free-market, and resultingly, money transactions). Friends, love, laughter, and the free time and freedom to choose your own path in life are. Of those, my life is sorely lacking the first 3 (of any quality, at least). Money makes all of those things easier to obtain, and it makes those things go more-smoothly and easily. But money is the means, *not* the end...

Don't waste the most-vital years of your life geeking-out like I did. Go out, party, get drunk, get laid every weekend. Do your homework too, and if you're in CS or Engineering, you may well have to sacrifice a party or two to do the assignments, but what I have just described is a far-better balance than I have achieved the last 4 years in school.

Work hard during the week, and party hard on the weekends. That is how co

The question is not what age she becomes jailbait, but at what age she ceases to be

The 486 has been legal in Chile for three years

All of this "around here, the age of consent is X" stuff is getting silly, so perhaps we could just look at the great big reference.

I agree with your point but it's harder to argue and more difficult to defend, let alone near impossible to write in to law. I accept the 18 year-old line as acceptable for pornography until something better comes along. Oh, and the pedophile line is set at 16 years old in the US (depending on the state) and this seems to be the consensus around the world as well.

in the US, that would only be legal in South Carolina - though the state does have a bill pending moving the age up to 16 from 14

This means that Pearl is also legal to have sex with in most states. So, if you want to give Pearl a "pearl necklace," go right ahead. Just make sure there is no drinking involved as that might jam you up with the law

It depends on the state. If you really need to find out, use AgeOfConsent.com for your particular situation.

ageofconsent.com

Child porn: Sorry, but I do not agree with the US position that 18 is some magical age when sex become ok. If other countries wish to have a lower age of consent, that's their right. Then there are those countries that want ALL pornagraphy to be illegal. So if it's ok for us to tell a nation that 18 must be the minimum age for porn, why is it not ok for a different country to tell us that NO age is ok for porn?

While no country should be able to dictate that no porn should be accessible, there must be a line drawn somewhere that says that images of children younger than x years are illegal worldwide.

Since the lowest age of consent appears to be 12, there should be no reason whatsoever to see 6 or 7 year old children in explicit images anywhere on the Internet.

I'm all for free speech online, but that "right" should not be abused to exploit innocent children.

Ouch. I bet they were fat and ugly though. Note that I picked Dutch 16 year old guys for a reason. There is absolutely nothing illegal about their side of the deal, but Texas has anti-sodomy laws and an AOC of 18. Is it legal and/or moral to send those images to a 16 year old in Texas?

Heck, we could probably find some country where it's legal for a 14 year old to hump a donkey. How does that effect the morality of distributing images of that act outside of that jurisdiction?

OK, what about images of consensual over 18 man on woman sex, filmed in Texas and send to Iran?

Oops, forgot the link:
http://www.ageofconsent.com/ageofconsent.htm

http://www.ageofconsent.com/

So before you go clubbing in a strange town or country, for your own sake, consult this website.

It can save your ass...
literally.

In Hawaii for example, underage is under 16. In Austria, underage is under 14. In Chile, underage is under 12. Tunisua, underage is under 20.

http://www.ageofconsent.com/

It would be illegal in most states? I'm pretty sure the Dell dude is over 18. Could be wrong...

Varies between states. Age of consent for around the world.

Google will give you links to anything you want on the web that it knows of...but you can't trust everything you read on the web...so using Google as a reference book is not the best way to go until they can provide some sort of knowledge filter or something similar to the PageRank system for qualifying certain links over others.

For the doubters who say "well, how can you trust snopes over VanHalen Links to be correct?"...Snopes references their information better.

I don't think Kiddie Porn is protected anywhere.

In other countries, people become adults at different times (14 in Albania, 17 in Cyprus, 16 in Norway, full chart here). Forcing our view of morality on the rest of the world is something the US has been doing far too much lately.

Yahoo.com doesn't display adverts with 14 year old girls in sexual situations, and Yahoo.de auctions doesn't sell Mein Kampf. Local portals are localised. Every page on the web breaks some law somewhere; it's just that some make more effort to comply with a particular (and arbitrary) bunch of local morality and laws, so that they don't have to spend all their money on lawyers. Get over it.

Recently I reprised On a Pale Horse with my girlfriend and I discovered to my discomfort that it dealt very explicitly with underage sex in a way that sexualized young girls in particular.

[...] an underage girl uses a protracted stay in Purgatory in order to be able to have legal sex with a much older priest. Significantly, she is only 18 "by law". Physically and mentally she is 16 when she has sex with the priest. We are supposed to have any moral questions calmed by this.

as someone who is disquieted by the influence you may have had upon my young sexuality

I would like to know candidly whether you are attracted to underage women.

Yep.

Check http://www.ageofconsent.com/ageofconsent.htm for details.

In part because in most civilized countries it's perfectly legal for folks under the age of 18 to have sex with just about anyone they please (ages ranging from 12-16 across most of the First World). Here in the good ol' U.S., where morality rules and biology is for fools, a site in the .kids section devoted to discussing the sexual issues of teens in detail - especially if it involved sexuality with someone *over* the age of 18, a criminal act in all 50 states - would cause a major uproar.

I sincerely don't think almost any law should be applied extraterritorially, because each country has its own culture.

Suppose you are Spanish and have sex with a 14 year girl in Spain. Should you be arrested for pedophily next time you travel to US ? Considering the legal consent age in Spain is 13.

Should you be arrested for being a druggie addict if you smoked pot in the Netherlands, in a place where it was allowed?

Should an American who is homosexual be sentenced for 6 years in jail and 2,600 lashes next time he travels to Saudi Arabia, as homosexual acts are illegal, and subject to a maximum penalty of death?

This is crazy. The law that should prevail is the local law. I think that if a person does something another country doesn't like (like Dmitry vs US), then he should be considered persona non-grata in that country. Dmitry's entrance to US should have been refused in the airport immigration and he sent back to Russia. But not arrested.

adding to the other reply to parent post - check out www.ageofconsent.com.

Here's all you've ever wanted to know about the age of consent around the world.

Find the age of consent in your state:

http://ageofconsent.com/

Reality Master dun said:

you cannot install hidden cameras (as a security system) Reference? As far as I know, that is not illegal, unless you're using them to spy on others (like, recording movies of having sex with someone, and then selling the movie).

Actually, certain types of hidden cameras are generally not allowed to be sold to the public, or if they are allowed to be sold at all, require special licensing. Certain types of security cameras (smaller than, say, around an 8mm movie camera) are not allowed to be sold to persons other than "qualified" law enforcement and to licensed private investigators because they are considered "surveillance equipment".

New York State, in particular, has passed several laws on the books banning personal security cameras below a certain size (in an attempt to shut down "spy shops"), and many localities have similar laws.

some places certain activities with your spouce are not legal. Well, first of all, that's not at the state or federal level

In a word: Wrongo.

Up until fairly recently, literally all sex outside of the missionary position was illegal in Kentucky (our sodomy law has recently been overturned in KY Supreme Court as unconstitutional, as it was used largely to target the state's homosexual population). In Alabama, not only is everything but the missionary position flatly illegal (yes, people have actually been prosecuted for sodomy for consentual oral sex in Alabama, and yes, there have been convictions even in the past two years) but in fact all sexual activity between unmarried persons is illegal. The Alabama Supreme Court has ruled this legal, by the way.

A rather surprising number of states (often in the Southeast US, but a few other states have similar laws--Utah and Colorado are biggies) have laws that criminalise even consentual anal or oral sex. Most of these laws have not yet been ruled unconstitutional, and by and large, these laws are used to target homosexuals and/or teens "doing it"; they have been used to harass even straight, married couples in some cases, however. (Some good info on what is and isn't illegal is here; while the link deals more with statutory rape laws, it does have info regarding sodomy laws as well).

For that matter, a surprising number of states still have laws against adultery on the books. These are rarely enforced, but are sometimes used in divorce proceedings and the like.

Yes, there are going to be wacky local laws, but 1) they are not enforced, and 2) if they were, they would be struck down by higher courts.

A recent appeal to get Texas' sodomy law overturned has failed--and this was to the US Supreme Court. (Kentucky's sodomy law DID get overturned by the state Supreme Court, but this was because it was found it was used to blatantly harass homosexuals and that the definition of sodomy was overbroad--not on the merits of having a sodomy law in the first place.) Alabama's law, which (as noted previously) literally prohibits all sexual activity besides the missionary position between married adults, has not as of yet been overturned. (Incidentially--Alabama also has a law prohibiting gays from marrying, and (up until it was recently revoked after discovering it was still on the books) also had laws against interracial marriage. Some states still have these laws on the books, even though US Supreme Court decisions have overruled them.

There are court challenges to sodomy laws, but their success in part depends on state challenges and in part also to what happens with US Presidential elections. (If Dubya gets elected, it is likely that any Supreme Court nominees he picks are substantially more likely to rule sodomy statutes that even prohibit consentual anal/oral sex are constitutional.)

In any case, I'd say it would be quite inadvisable to, say, come into a small, rural Alabama town at night, going to Lover's Lane, being of one race and having a partner of another race--even if you ARE married (God help you if you're gay) and go through the entire Kama Sutra in the back of one's car. These are areas where the Kama Sutra is often banned for being considered obscene; doing such is probably a VERY good way to find one's self convicted under Alabama's sodomy laws. (Chances go up even more if your spouse or partner happens to be the same sex.)

(I'll note, as an aside, that Alabama is all but a fundamentalist Christian theocracy nowadays. One of the major judges posts and preaches Christian scripture before trials, has stated flat out that "Hindus and Muslims and pagans" are "not worth protecting". The Governor of the fine state of Alabama flat out stated (when he was warned by authorities that this was stepping over the bounds of the First Amendment's separation of church and state) that if the judge was ordered to leave he'd send in the National Guard to prevent the judge being disbarred. If it weren't for the Supreme Court, they'd be as much of a theocracy as Taliban Afghanistan (and no, I am not making this up--the Southern Baptist Convention [which has become increasingly fundamentalist and coercive to the point that their own seminary may now be defined to be a coercive group--destroyed the world's only college of social works in the process of a fundy purge] and other fundy groups and denominations [most notably the American Family Association, the UnChristian Coalition, Focus on the Family, and the Assemblies of God] have an incredible amount of influence on both the common folk of Alabama and on its legislature--one almost cannot get elected there without the approval of the Religious Reich, especially in more rural areas [read: most of the damn state]).

You have to be 17 (legally) to see and R rated movie. You need to be of age to look at "adult material" (ie porn). Why should a video game this is violent or sexual in nature be any different?

Others have already mentioned about the R-rating being an industry-regulated (MPAA-mandated) issue, so I'll leave that alone. You gotta wonder what's up with keeping all these things from teenagers - no porn, violent video games, etc. - in a state where the age of consent is 16.

Yes, I am embarassed to know that this site actually exists.

Want to know what some of these backwater regions are? Good portions of United States and Britain, for starters. There's a good list on Age Of Consent which lists when sexual relationships of varying natures become legal, if ever, though it doesn't list which positions are legal IIRC, though I know for a fact that in Virginia, everything but male-dominated missionary is illegal (you can get a heterosexual couple jailed with the right contacts by claiming that they enacted in fellatio or cunningulus, for example).
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"'Is not a quine' is not a quine" is a quine.

Of course, I personally believe that you shouldn't go by what's legal or illegal, but what's right or wrong. Unfortunately, the law doesn't care about ethics.
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"'Is not a quine' is not a quine" is a quine.

17 is the age of consent.

Ooooohhhh, now have her sing and play like Virgin Steele and I'll really be in love.

Anyway, here's your age of consent chart -- keep it with you where ever you go!

It's very interesting to note how old the sting agent said she was. If she had said 14, instead of 13, then Patrick Naughton would not be suspected of anything in 2 States in the US (24 Countries also would not prosecute). If the FBI agent had said 15 then Patrick would not be accused of a crime in 5 states (and many Countries).

Check out ageofconsent.com to find out the Age of Consent in your country/state.

I think it would be interesting to see how old the slashdot readers were when they "lost it". But more interesting might be how old their significant other would have been. There's a big difference between a sexually active 13 year old, and a 35 year old who would have sex with that person. I'm not trying to take any position on the subject. I don't know what Patrick did, I don't like that he was set up - but I don't know if he is a child offender. It might turn out that he has a child molestation ring that he runs.

Joseph Elwell.

In New Mexico the age of consent is 17, not 13. Also, since this guy crossed state lines, he can be charged with a Federal crime, not simply a state crime. So, even if this "13 year-old" had been from New Mexico, he still would have been in big trouble.

In New Mexico the age of consent is 17, not 13. Also, since this guy crossed state lines, he can be charged with a Federal crime, not simply a state crime. So, even if this "13 year-old" had been from New Mexico, he still would have been in big trouble.