Yep, the laws are pretty messed up here. As someone said a few months ago: "Steal a Michael Jackson song, get five years. Kill Michael Jackson, get four years.
Over the years, I found that Alcohol is a scary substance. I don't drink, I understand I might not be able to control myself if drunk. I might get drunk, do something stupid, and get treated like I'm the most evil person in the world. I'd prefer not to get compared to the next guy who raped three children one day because he was bored. So I've stayed sober. Even upon entering adulthood, I've stayed away from alcohol, and to be honest, I prefer being sober anyways, because I don't like being drunk or high or whatever. Unfortunately, this opens me up to the possibility that if I meet a girl, say in a bar and we hit it off, she might change her mind half-way through, or even long after the act, suddenly making me a criminal, also compared to the evil douche from before.
There are just so many loopholes in our laws, and sex offender laws are no exception. I can see two reasons to instate a age of consent.
1. to protect a child from being coerced or forced into sex. This I agree with, I think we can all agree it is good to protect others, especially children. Unfortunately, I have found that many times these laws that are meant to protect children, just as often torment them should they fail to do their job. I once read a person's experience where she had been raped several times, and her friend had been raped as well. And many times abusers had once been abused themselves. But this girl had been treated as if she was a ticking time bomb. Someone mentioned chemical castration, and if she was here, she would call what had been done to her chemical castration. They kept her on medication to prevent her from sexually maturing. They were deathly afraid she would grow up and commit the same act that had hurt her. I can understand protecting children, but what do you do when your actions meant to protect children, just hurt them? Why is it that the victim is often the one being punished?
2. To keep people from making a mistake before they are an adult. I don't think this one is working at all. Teen pregnancy is on the rise, and abortion as well. What is sad is that condoms are supposedly easy to get, or should be. Teens either don't see any risks, or they see the risks as worth it. Whatever the case, teenagers end up regretting their mistake, law or no law. And with our tech, teens see the consequences as something that they can just make go away. And when it comes to adulthood, adults really are no better. We still make the very same mistakes our supposed teenage peers make, and we're the adults. The risks still seem to be little to nothing, because we still have the very same tech, and we think we can just wish away any consequences as we want. Even if that isn't always true, we still go forward without a care in the world as if it was. Very rarely have I actually met somebody who I felt didn't make mistakes. The mature ones are those that dealt with their mistakes. Sometimes it's an adult, but many times I have seen teenagers more mature than adults are. I think a lot of it is how they deal with the topic of sex. When I was younger, I encountered mature websites, and ended up quite precocious for a kid my age. I grew up in an area where kids had been repressed from things like that. Most had no knowledge at all. And they tended to view sex and other sexual matters as a holy grail. I've even seen a kid trying with all of his might to peek down a girl's shirt or up a skirt or whatever. Those with more experience with seeing those kinds of things, such as myself saw it as kind of sad, that the kid lacked any form of manners, because he had to resort to peeping down shirts, to see something we could see anytime online. Once you get out of the "sex is mysterious" phase, you are more likely to make a mature choice, even with hormones. Now I don't advocate showing mature material to children, but I think perhaps parents should try to teach their children more so they don't end up seeing it as a sort of way into heaven deal. Think there has to be a way to do that without "omg mentally scarred for life" happening. Eventually they will seek it out because they know so little about it. And parents shouldn't rely on schools to teach it, their version has far too little information. I understand schools can't always teach everything about sex ed, but showing pictures of std's is actually not a very effective way to teach them. Most just ignore it, most kids in my class did anyway.
Also many times what is called statutory rape was never rape to begin with. So a man becomes a sex offender because he slept with a girl, but what happens if he later marries her. The idea of calling it that seems a little retarded to me. I mean, rape is rape, calling something that isn't rape, rape, is kind of insulting if you ask me. I'm not going to use the "she wanted it" excuse, but if they continue dating over such a long period, I think maybe the charge should be dropped, laws should be created to protect. In cases where nobody was hurt, then a crime should never have been considered. I would say, pay attention to him, make it a temporary charge that may become permanent or go away depending on what happens. When the girl turns legal, let her decide.
Anyway, I ranted. I too think completely banning sex offenders is going too far. As many have pointed out, many sex offenders aren't really what should be called sex offenders and many were falsely accused. I have two things to say to this. 1. separate or cut off their communication. If you do that, then they should be harmless. One could say "but what if they sign up without notice?" They are going to do that anyway, or might do it anyway. what you do is that if you find them, just separate them from the rest. This will make them less likely to just start another account. Maybe they should even just check to see what the person was actually convicted of. Why should a person lose the ability to play games online, just because he had to pee?
2. Parents who even let their children play with such complete strangers should get scolded or fined. It is their duty to make sure their children aren't talking to sex offenders, and while banning the ones on the registry would help in some case, nothing beats common sense and parental controls. And what game companies can't do is make sure somebody doesn't become a sex offender. Some guy who had been completely innocent up until then might decide to use online for his advantage, him, not being on the sex offender registry would slip past unnoticed. Parents, do the math, do you really want your kids talking to strangers online. Some guy who peed on the sidewalk can't be more dangerous than some guy who might be a dangerous person who never got caught. Those that were on the registry, they all had their first crime, and conviction, they didn't have their name on a list before they did anything.
@Gary I would have a far bigger problem with him just being free. I mean, if he had killed somebody I loved, he might not be alive afterward. And even if he did, you can bet I would make his life a living hell, so much so that he would prefer to die or go to prison. But him playing games, even violent ones aren't inherantly a problem, not to me anyways. For that to be a problem I would have to believe that video games make somebody more likely to be violent before or at least after a crime. No studies have shown that videogames make you violent, quite the contrary. I think such an implication would be far worse for videogames than any criminals. So yes, If I saw him walking into gamestop, I would be pissed, but not because he was buying an xbox or a violent game, but because in my mind, I would be wondering who the dipstick was that let him out, since the person I loved couldn't go into a gamestop, so why is he able to.
i never post here much. but to the op. i hope it is happening, i spent some time in prison and sex crimes is the only thing that is unexceptable, aside from snitching. Now these mother fuckers should not be allowed to live. very bad things were done to these men in prison and we all a laughed. should have never "scared" another human for life.
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