It’s true that minors who commit crimes should be punished accordingly like an adult would. But minors should be protected by socieity against moral corruption, and any adult who participates in the moral corruption of minors should pay a heavy price for crossing that line.
Conservatives have come to reject the idea that public society behaves by standards that are protective of the innocence of children because liberals have bastardized the sentiment to push socialism “for the chilrun.”
Have they? Or do they just reject the idea that protecting the innocence of children requires banning for adults what is unacceptable for children?