Jamie Lynn's Pregnancy Raises Legal Questions
- added December 20, 2007
- 4 responses
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- abbym0308
- added this
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- related topics
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- Celebrities (2217)
- Teen Pregnancy (33)
- Jamie Lynn Spears (20)
- Statutory Rape (3)
This story is no longer just a matter of celeb gossip. She's 16. He's 18. The issue is now casting new light on how states deal with the thorny issue of consensual sex among teens.
"There has been no public talk of criminal prosecution in the case. Consensual sex between the two may well have been legal, depending on where and when it took place. But critics of the nation's statutory rape laws say that laws that are ignored in some cases can be used to put other teens in prison and land them on sex-offender registries."
This is indeed a complicated issue. I think statutory rape laws are appropriate for punishing adults who shouldn't be having sex with young teens. But the grey area is another story. And the fact that the laws aren't the same in each state just adds to the ambiguity of the issue. Should teens be allowed to have consensual sex with each other? Is age the appropriate way to approach this issue?
"There has been no public talk of criminal prosecution in the case. Consensual sex between the two may well have been legal, depending on where and when it took place. But critics of the nation's statutory rape laws say that laws that are ignored in some cases can be used to put other teens in prison and land them on sex-offender registries."
This is indeed a complicated issue. I think statutory rape laws are appropriate for punishing adults who shouldn't be having sex with young teens. But the grey area is another story. And the fact that the laws aren't the same in each state just adds to the ambiguity of the issue. Should teens be allowed to have consensual sex with each other? Is age the appropriate way to approach this issue?
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let them smash if they wanna smash. simple. what's the problem, where is the harm.
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Figuring out "when and where" the "act" took place is going to be next to impossible. I'm willing to bet that the "act" took place numerous times. I'm sure this wasn't a "pregnant after one time" thing...this time just happened to be the one that "stuck", so-to-speak.
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I think that we should model our laws toward sex like they are in Brazil. Any consenting adult over the age of 14 can have sex. They have strong laws against rape. But he libidinous laws suck, we don't need that one at all.
Here is an excerpt from Wiki...
Brazilian criminal law does not punish any sexual act performed by consenting adults, but allows for prosecution, under statutory rape laws and the children's protection act, when one of the participants is under 14 year of age and the other an adult, as per Articles 214, 223, 224 and 225 of the Brazilian Penal Code and Articles 240 and 244-A of the Estatuto da Criança e do Adolescente - Law 8.069. Article 235 of the Brazilian Military Criminal Code - DL 1.001/69-, however, does incriminate any contact deemed to be libidinous, be it of a homosexual nature or not, made in any location subject to military administration. Since the article is entitled Of pederasty or other libidinous acts, gay rights advocates claim that, since the Brazilian armed forces are comprised almost exclusively by males, the article allows for witch-hunts against homosexuals in the military service.
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