Wednesday, October 26, 2005

7 minutes in heaven can get you 15 months in jail?

Kansas state AG Phil Kline's proposed revisions to the state's child-abuse reporting requirements will finally be reviewed by a federal district court in December. Under Kline's suggested guidelines, healthcare providers who are made aware of any sexual activity involving anyone under the age of sixteen must report it to state authorities - even when both parties are consenting minors and/or the healthcare provider is supplied with that information second hand (i.e., a parent asking for advise on how to speak to a teenager who is sexually active). The kicker? Kissing is considered reportable illegal sexual activity under the law (I shit you not)!

While the state has not criminalized sexual activity between consenting children when both are younger than 16, under the the state's “Romeo and Juliet” law, consensual sexual activity between two teens is a crime if the younger teenager is 14 to 16 years old, if the older teenager is under 19, if the age difference is less than four years, & if there are no third parties involved, and if the two teenagers “are members of the opposite sex.” This means that technically, in Phil Kline's Kansas, it's actually illegal for a 17-year old to make out with a 16-year old.

Tags:;; ; ; ; ;

Sphere: Related Content

No comments: