ACLU of Florida Statement on Prosecution of 18-Year-Old Kaitlyn Hunt

[brett_jv]

52. Are we SURE we're not letting our support for Gay Rights get in the way of our judgement here?

I mean, if the 18 yo was a boy (or MAN, the second he turned 18, as some would say), would ANYone here be saying the same thing(s)?

Frankly, I tend to think ... not.

In fact, I suspect the opposite ... that many DU'ers would be complaining about the 'horrific rape culture' or some such, and demanding that such an evil, predatory monster be prosecuted to the full extent of the law for his reprehensible sexual predation upon an innocent, too-young-to-consent 14 year old BABY.

And no offense to my fellow guys, but if we're honest, a 14 yo girl is probably a lot closer to the same maturity as an 18 yo boy than they are an 18 yo girl .. And based on that, I think the case could be made that it's actually a 'worse' offense when Kaitlyn's a girl vs. if she were a guy ... and yet ... a guy would be condemned very strongly for doing this by most everyone, and most everyone seems to want to defend Kaitlyn.

So this is why I ask ... the question in my title above.

Personally, I don't have a huge problem with what happened here whether it was a girl, or a boy. I'm sure this will be controversial to say, but I think if 14 year olds are old enough to be tried and convicted as adults (which they most certainly have been in a number of states) when they commit a crime, then if we are to be consistent in terms of our 'logic', they should probably be considered 'old enough to consent' to sexual activity, esp. with a reasonably near-aged peer in a loving type of relationship, as was clearly the case here. Disclaimer: I say that because I despise seeing children tried as adults, not because I think the age of consent should be 14 years old And also, I'm just really not a fan of the way we seem to want to criminalize friggin' everything as the solution to our 'problems'.

However, as long as there's no evidence that Kaitlyn is being specifically targeted because she's gay, I don't really have a huge issue her paying some kind of consequences for this misbehavior. But ... I really don't think a felony charge and 'sex offender' registry is really very appropriate. This should be reserved for ACTUAL predatory behavior. Someone exhibiting a pattern of seducing youngsters, luring them into sex, and then dumping them. THAT is what punishment like that should be reserved for if you ask me.

As an aside, when I went to HS (80's) a sizable majority of the freshman (14-15 yo) girls were hot for the senior (17-18) guys, and that's because their maturity level is generally much more comparable than with couples of the same age. And there were TONS of 'couples' in this exact 'arrangement'. However, all the Seniors KNEW that they were playing w/fire if they kept it up with the minor girl once they turned 18. These laws are nothing new, and Kaitlyn unfortunately showed some pretty bad judgement in her actions. But I do understand ... the heart wants, what the heart wants. Esp. at that age.