Legal Age

[daxterdd]

They can indeed have sex at 16 (and 15, 14, 13 - don't think there's a minimum age for boys)

Well that doesn't seem right. :>/

[Madeleine]

In the UK

16 - in a restaurant, pub or club you can buy wine, beer or cider, if you're having a meal.
14 - can drive certain vehicles if you have a disability
16 - can drive tractors
12 - can buy a pet

[Shipperahoy]

You have to be a certain age to buy a pet? That's interesting. What doesn't make any sense to me is that here you only have to be 18 to sign up for the military and fight and die for your country and you also only have to be 18 to vote and affect changes in the government but you have to wait until you're 21 to buy alcohol. I don't get the logic of that.

[Brianamarie]

Far different in the US.

18 Can have sex legally (If you're underage no charges are filed as long as your partner is no more than 2 years younger/older than you)

Actually, if I remember correctly, this also varies from state to state. Some states, it's 17, others it's 16. http://www.ageofconsent.com/ageofconsent.htm has a list of ages by country and state.


And I thought gambling was 18? *double-checks* Ah, another state-dependant law.

Now, as far as government offices go, let me see if I can remember.. it's been awhile since I learned this in high school.

18 -- vote
25 -- run for congress
35 -- run for president (had to double-check google, I knew it was in the 30's)

[Geekyred]

And I think if you're so inclined you can join thr army, fight and die for your country at 17 in the UK. But of course you can't vote for a government that might send you to war until you're 18. Never quite understood that one.

[Spaceminx]

It used to be 18 for homosexual sex then they brought it down to 16 so it was in line with heterosexual sex laws.

Actually, I think it was 21 but they brought it down to 18.

[Major Clanger]

And I think if you're so inclined you can join thr army, fight and die for your country at 17 in the UK. But of course you can't vote for a government that might send you to war until you're 18. Never quite understood that one.

Actually, you're not allowed to be sent into combat or posted overseas until you're 18... which doesn't stop you dying for your country so it's still stupid.

As for the 21 thing in the States for alcohol, I find it incredibly silly. Either raise the other ages, or lower that one.

I really should check out the legal age stuff here in Germany, but i'm too lazy. Any Germans out there willing to help me?

[Wordsmit2]

What doesn't make any sense to me is that here you only have to be 18 to sign up for the military and fight and die for your country and you also only have to be 18 to vote and affect changes in the government but you have to wait until you're 21 to buy alcohol. I don't get the logic of that.

Until 1968 you had to be at least 21 to vote. The big impetus to change it to 18 seems to have been the Korean War although people didn't think seriously about it until the early 1960s. (And of course it takes a few years to ratify a Constitutional amendent.)

Americans have not yet contrived a compelling reason for teenagers to buy alcohol.

[Champos]

<< It used to be 18 for homosexual sex then they brought it down to 16 so it was in line with heterosexual sex laws. >>

I could very well be wrong but I thought they'd considered changing it to 16, but in the end had decided to leave it as it was.

<< What doesn't make any sense to me is that here you only have to be 18 to sign up for the military and fight and die for your country and you also only have to be 18 to vote and affect changes in the government but you have to wait until you're 21 to buy alcohol. I don't get the logic of that. >>

Maybe it's to stop you from legally getting drunk for the first time, and signing up all on your eighteenth birthday!

<< And I think if you're so inclined you can join thr army, fight and die for your country at 17 in the UK. But of course you can't vote for a government that might send you to war until you're 18. Never quite understood that one. >>

Again, I might be wrong, but I think the usual consensus is you can join up, they try not to send you to war until you are at least eighteen. That said, I know a guy who was sent off to Iraq straight after basic training, but he was eighteen.

[Anthro Girl]

16 Girls can have sex

...

So, at what age can boys have sex?

As others have stated, in the US an 18 year old can smoke, have sex, buy porn, vote, join the military, and build a permanent criminal record (preferably not all at the same time). If they survive all that for three years - and these days it could be the voting that kills ya - then they can start drinking alcohol.

Driving ages for permits, licenses and driving with/without an "adult" present vary by state. Sex under the age of 18 (for either boys or girls) isn't an issue unless one of the partners is above the age of 18 or older than 2+ years. So...a 35 year old can't have sex with a 14 year old, but s/he can marry him/her in some states and THEN have sex. Gotta have those priorities right...

Of course, this varies by culture. What some Western cultures may consider "too young to marry", other cultures may not.

[Anthro Girl]

What doesn't make any sense to me is that here you only have to be 18 to sign up for the military and fight and die for your country and you also only have to be 18 to vote and affect changes in the government but you have to wait until you're 21 to buy alcohol. I don't get the logic of that.

Have you ever been at a nightclub with 18 year olds? Then you'd understand. Just kidding...you're right, it doesn't make sense. The drinking age in the US used to be a state decision - and many states had 18 as the minimum - until 1984, when the feds tied compliance with the 21 age to interstate highway funding. States didn't have to raise it, but if they didn't they got no road money. Even now, states vary on whether it is a crime for someone underage to either possess or consume or both. There are exceptions for the 21 age in the case of medical reasons (oh yeah...explain that one to me), religious ceremonies or for possession for employment purposes (wait staff).

Not that this has to do with age, but in the state of California, you can smoke marijuana if you have a doctor's note and there are "clubs" where you can purchase it for medicinal purposes, but generally no one is allowed to grow it, transport it or otherwise be in possession of it for the purposes of transporting or selling. Apparently, medicinal marijuana just *POOF* appears.

[aussie_gal]

Ok well in australia is

17 both Girls and boys can have sex
16 Get married (with parental consent)
16 Can drive a car
18 Can drink alcohol
18 Can gamble - lottery, low jackpot fruit machines etc
18 Can vote
21 Can stand for parliament


Its depends on which state you are in ages are different this is for south australia

[Tauri]

Ok well in australia is

17 both Girls and boys can have sex
16 Get married (with parental consent)
16 Can drive a car
18 Can drink alcohol
18 Can gamble - lottery, low jackpot fruit machines etc
18 Can vote
21 Can stand for parliament


Its depends on which state you are in ages are different this is for south australia

At 16 they only get a Learner's Permit to drive?

[sueKay]

In Scotland (we're a wee bit different from the rest of the UK in some things)

14 - Can drive a moped, scooter or motorbike. Can have speed/powerboat lessons.
15 - can get piloting lessons. Can live away from home bot not own a home.
16 - Are legally adult. Can have sex, can get speed/powerboat license. Can get pilot's license. Can get married without parental consent.Can be a home-owner.
17 - can get driving lessons and provisional, and once you've passed your test can have full license.
18 - can drink.

[Mr Prophet]

They can indeed have sex at 16 (and 15, 14, 13 - don't think there's a minimum age for boys)

There isn't a minimum age at which girls can have sex, either. It's a crime to have sex with a girl who is under 16, specifically, rape; consent, if given, is vitiated by the girl's presumed incompetence to give such consent on grounds of age. The girl in question has done nothing wrong; not legally, anyway.

If the girl is under 13, the man involved is looking at a life sentence.

An exemption exists for couples who are foreign visitors who are legally married in their native country.

The same applies to anyone who has sex with a boy under 16, only - as under British law you can't rape a male - the crime would be indecent assault. The same would be true of a woman who had sex with an underage girl (women can't legally commit rape, either); there's no formal age of consent for lesbian sex, but it's still indecent assault.