Joe.My.God. LGBT News
Law & Crime reports:
Harvard Law professor emeritus Alan Dershowitz, who was criticized for the better part of Monday due to the resurfacing of a 1997 op-ed he wrote (“Statutory Rape Is an Outdated Concept”), has offered a response on Twitter to former George W. Bush chief White House ethics lawyer Richard Painter: “I stand by the constitutional (not moral) argument I offered in my controversial oped.”
In a 1997 op-ed in the Los Angeles Times, he argued against statutory-rape laws, writing, “There must be criminal sanctions against sex with very young children, but it is doubtful whether such sanctions should apply to teenagers above the age of puberty, since voluntary sex is so common in their age group.” He suggested that fifteen was a reasonable age of consent, no matter how old the partner was. He has also argued against punishing men who hire prostitutes.
Why is @AlanDersh trying to lower the age of consent in this op-ed? 15? Really? https://t.co/K8LyEho50X
— Richard W. Painter (@RWPUSA) July 29, 2019
“Reasonable people can disagree about whether [the age of consent] should be as low as 14.”
ls @AlanDersh kidding (pun intended)?
Does he really think that?— Richard W. Painter (@RWPUSA) July 29, 2019
I stand by the constitutional (not moral) argument I offered in my controversial oped: if a 16 year old has the constitutional right to have an abortion without state or parental interference, how could she not have the constitutional right to engage in consensual sex? 1/ https://t.co/48Thb8Uaym
— Alan Dershowitz (@AlanDersh) July 29, 2019
I challenge my readers to distinguish the cases, as a matter of constitutional law. I did not suggest that it is moral to have sex with a 16 year old, but rather that the issue presents a constitutional conundrum worthy of discussion. 2/
— Alan Dershowitz (@AlanDersh) July 29, 2019
I also pointed out that, statutory rape laws are applied quite selectively and often against young teenagers. That’s why I also say there are Romeo and Juliet exceptions. Lets debate not name call. End/
— Alan Dershowitz (@AlanDersh) July 29, 2019
Is that the age you like Dersh? I actually think it is a cover up for you, Trump and the GOP. See, there was this report that Epstein and his “VIP’s” liked them as young as 14 for their act of molesting a child. I hear you are a VIP as well Trump. 16 sounds better than 14.
— Bill Garland (@billg18211) July 29, 2019
You’re seriously trying to justify why it’s ok to RAPE children. You are disgusting.
DELETE. YOUR. ACCOUNT.
— Stacie (@h8Wankmaggot45) July 29, 2019
A novel approach, if nothing else, this calling for changing the laws to fit ones proclivities.
— ImpeachtheMF (@TickTockTraitor) July 29, 2019