(December 4, 2022 at 9:29 pm)Lek Wrote:(December 4, 2022 at 9:11 pm)Helios Wrote: Indeed it's very condescending to assume age equals maturity.Why do you think we have the laws in place concerning minors? Why do you think these laws have come about? How about statutory rape, etc.?
It's a gradation, as with a driver's license. For parents who've been divorced, judges usually allow a child to decide which parent they wish to live with around age 10. A learner's permit is usually issued around age 14 with fewer restrictions around age 16. The age of consent is around age 16 through age 18. Even in states with corporeal punishment, teenagers are given a choice between being spanked multiple times with a wooden paddle versus being suspended from school. (From what I've read, most choose to be paddled.) Minors can attend R-rated movies unaccompanied by an adult at age 17; ditto for PG-13. Beginning in middle school, they can also choose to take some classes versus others. Minors can choose to work from a limited, but varied, job market. They can also go to a doctor's office on their own to be vaccinated. If they are transgender, they can choose to "crossdress", wear makeup, grow their hair long or short.
