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The age of sexual consent should be standardized across the US states for the protection of minors. (There is a standard age for voting.) A legal age for sexual consent that is the same in all states protects adults as well. Most of the statutes as written were meant for girls. {The intent was to define what age was allowable for a man to take her as his wife.) As it is, a person could be called a sex offender in one state and be perfectly legit in another state.

I believe that the law should be made simple and clear. There should be no prosecution of under-age people who are of the same age, or no more than 2-3 years difference in age. Ex: It would be cruel to prosecute a sixteen year old for having sex with a fourteen year old. More than this we need laws that make it clear, in no uncertain terms, that adults do not engage in sexual activities with minors. It does not matter whether they are willing participants or not. People who are not mature enough to make informed decisions deserve protection under the law, even from themselves. (There should also be a standard age to define adulthood too.)

This may well be difficult to accomplish, because of the times that we are living in. However, since statutes exist nationally; we should be able to come up with a standard age. Perhaps it could be the average age in all of the states combined. I think it is something that is long overdue.

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