I see that you feel strongly about the insanity of NAMBLA and its philosophy of lowering or removing the age of consent laws. I can see that you are very passionate about this. Sometimes passion for something can cloud our judgment about other issues that seem to resemble the ones we are adamantly opposed to.
I don’t believe I have said anything that would reasonably give someone else reason to think I approved of anything remotely related to NAMBLA’s position about adults having sex with children. This could not be further from my mind, in my experience on both sides of the issue, with regard to child sexual abuse of any kind. It is the ultimate violation of the human soul, for an adult to act out sexually, or have any physical contact with a child of any kind that could even be interpreted as sexual in nature. I do not disagree whatsoever with the “age of consent” as it stands currently.
What I absolutely DO have issue with, is defining the legal charges of sexual activity or behavior of a legal adult with a legal minor, when that relationship has some perception of consent. I also know that our society is out of control with its over reaction to, and it’s lack of applying personal responsibility to the behavior of persons old enough to participate in sexual activity, even if one party is technically “under age” (i.e. 15, 16 or 17 year old girl or boy). The consequences and punishment for these clear violations of the laws SHOULD FIT THE CRIME. They currently do NOT, and this is escalating rapidly across this country.
As a parent myself of four precious children over whom I am fiercely protective, I would hope that the law would deal with a boy in a reasonable and responsible way, if I would be the one to drag him by his neck into the police station, after catching him (as a 20 year old) kissing my teenage daughter. But once I cross that line and make that accusation, that boy’s life and his family’s lives would be destroyed forever, because of the way our laws currently are written and implemented. As much as my emotional response as a parent can absolutely be justified on its face, I do not believe that behavior for which I personally would want him to pay a high price for, should include many years of incarceration, and a lifetime of being branded a sexual offender, no matter what I might personally feel.
I am teaching my girls as well as my boys about personal responsibility for every action they take — every choice they make. My boys are not going to be held to a different or higher standard than my girls. The laws NEED to make room for and take into consideration these very common circumstances as I have described her in this long answer to your question. They currently do NOT. They currently would suck this young man into the abyss of a prison system that would remove any chance he had of understanding the gravity of his crime against my daughter, or of taking any responsibility for or having remorse for what he did, because of the rage and humiliation he would experience, due to the over-sentencing he would surely receive, because of the disproportionate guidelines in the criminal justice system.
My hope and prayer is that this message gets out to enough of the public over time, so that the legislators who are drafting and voting on these laws will look beyond the political climate and party lines, to see the reality of how broken our justice system truly is for sex offenders across the board.
Hope I helped you a little bit with your question.
I’ve read, with interest, some of the posts here. I was actually surprised to see that there were a couple of voices of reason besides “adopt4Christ”. That’s kind of rare with this particular topic.
Most posters only seem intent upon publishing the impression that they are good, upstanding ‘mericans who are more than willing to heap any punishment possible on sex offenders. Well, good for you.
And there are those who keep telling others like Adopt4Christ to “go out and get the laws changed” if they don’t think they are fair. That sounds proper and noble, but you know she can’t do it. No more than you can get your wishes of extermination or castration carried out.
A lot of woofing to present ourselves as indignantly righteous, but none of it the least bit effective in stopping child molesting.
Can anyone here tell me why they find themselves to be proud of “demanding” ever increasingly stricter and more harsh punishments for any poor slob caught in our legal system’s sex offender trap... no matter what they did (or perhaps, as has been pointed out), did NOT do?
I really would like to know. Because I have not heard one of these upstanding citizens screaming for a pound of flesh offering even a hint of a desire to implement programs that would help stop molestation before it happens.
How is all this grandstanding any different than saying “Kill all people suspected of terrorism”, yet not lifting one finger to finance and enable early detection and prevention of terrorist attacks?
You may be making yourself feel better and demonstrating to all who read here that you are a hard-line law and order type. But what are your rants doing to help protect the little girl across the street from you who may be molested by her step father next week?
Of course, you will be at the head of the lynch mob. You will likely be caught in a nice 8x10 glossy for tomorrow’s front page... or get your tirades captured on film for the 6:00 news. But you know what? The little girl still got molested. You did NOTHING to prevent that.
But you ARE doing something!! Right? Yeah, you continue to vote for more and more laws that have proved beyond the shadow of a doubt that they also do nothing. Tell that to the little girl you might have kept from being molesting if the monies to implement detection and prevention programs weren’t being wasted on having some poor cop go out to walk off the 1,000 feet between a complying registrant’s home and a bus stop.
A couple of people on here seem to understand the priorities in this epidemic. Just a few seem to actually sit and ponder alternatives and true solutions. The rest just seem to mill around with the mob and chant the same tired, ineffectual mantras.
What do they say about true insanity being the continued employment of actions that don’t work, all the while expecting different results each time?
I invite some of you to think about seeing if there is not some way you can help that little girl I mentioned..... instead of trying to make her or her mother think you are REALLY concerned. You do little when you pat her on the head, saying “We’ll punish the guy who hurt you”.
What do you say to her when she asks “Why did you let him hurt me in the first place?” What? Do you say “Sorry, I was too busy shouting for “my” pound of flesh to have been concerned about what “you” might soon face?”
Now, I know there are a fair percentage of you just aching to defend yourselves. I certainly would expect that (I’ve read yout thoughts), but this was not written for you.... but for the minority who truly question, ponder, and strive for effective measures. To those of you who fit that category, I invite you to consider positive and working methods of protecting our children.