Reply #1: As with most things

[Mythsaje]

it's not as simply black and white as it may at first appear. Better definitions are necessary before we even START to consider harsher penalties. A 19 y.o. having sex with his 17 y.o. girlfriend is NOT the danger to society that a sociopathic pedophile type would be... For that matter, I don't think someone who preys on REAL children is the same as a loser in his late twenties who likes teenagers. Loser, yes. Pedophile? Not literally. (I use this example because my wife dated a guy who was 29 when she was 15--I think she'd argue that SHE is no worse for it and I'm not stupid enough to weigh in on the question). Now why a 29 y.o. guy would WANT to date a 15 y.o. girl (even one who was emancipated and independent) I'm not sure, but that's another question entirely.

A streaker could easily be charged with a sex crime and wear the burden for the rest of his life when, in all reality, not thirty years ago he would've just been smacked down for being a dumbass.

I really, really distrust absolutes. Especially when real lives hang in the balance.