Should The Age Of Sexual Consent Be Standardized?

Do you know your state's age of consent?

State laws regarding "age of consent" should not only be standardized, but also equally enforced for both the males and the females.

It was not until the 1920s that states within the United States actually started raising their "ages of consent", with most states settling on ages from 14 to 18.

Prior to 1889, the age of consent in California was age 10. That's right, a 10 year old in California could participate in sexual activity and be within the law. In 1889, California raised the age of consent to 14, in 1897 to 16 and in 1913 to age 18.

I have always understood that when states make laws, they are to protect the people. But when a state sets the age of consent to, let's say 16, who is the law really protecting? In establishing these age of consent laws, it seems that the age of the male makes absolutely no difference.

Criticism And Free Speech Under The U. S. Constitution

We are guaranteed the right of free speech, including the right to criticize private individuals and public figures, by the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, which states; "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."

The U. S. Supreme Court recognized this principle in 1941 in the case of Bridges v. California - 314 U.S. 252(1941). 

This case involved the conviction of a labor leader for publishing a telegram in the newspaper. He had sent this telegram to the Secretary of Labor, in which he criticized a court's decision in a labor dispute and stated that if the court's decision was upheld there would be a strike.

Should Fathers Have A Say About Abortion?

This is a tougher question than it appears on the surface.

The obvious answer would be "Yes", the father had an equal share in producing the baby and should have an equal share in the decision to kill it. Just debating the whole issue kind of makes me sick.

But, I think this question goes much deeper. The decision on whether or not to consult with the father would seem to depend on the status of the relationship between the mother and the father. If the father had just skipped town, he might say "Sure, go ahead and kill it.", with no real concern for what happened. This could possibly persuade the mother to do something totally against her will.

How about the father who is an alcoholic and his vision of reality is never clear. Do we think that he would be in any position to give the mother any kind of worthwhile direction or advice?

Views On The Death Penalty

Is the death penalty fair and just punishment?

There is a 61-year-old prison inmate sitting on death row in the state of Florida who was sentenced to death at the age of 27. In his 34 years of solitary confinement on death row, he has not been allowed to associate with other inmates and has not been allowed to be "productive" in any way in the prison population. The massive number of appeals in his case have cost the tax payers thousands and thousands of dollars, with more appeals to come.

In the state of Ohio, there are currently 180 prison inmates on death row, some who were given the death penalty as early as 1984.

According to national statistics in 1996, there were 3,242 prison inmates on death row and in 2006, there were 3,228 under sentence of death. These same statistics indicate that in 2006, 53 of those inmates who had received the death penalty were actually executed, compared to 42 executions that took place in 2007.

Are Christmas Symbols Constitutional?

The "Nativity" is a symbol of love and family.

Jews only celebrate holidays mentioned in the Old Testament, where Christians celebrate Christmas as the birth of Christ which happens to appear in the New Testament.

So what do Jews do on December 25th? Some go out for Chinese and others use this time for a family get together. So there is a celebration of families coming together during this time of year.  That's what Christmas should be.

Halloween was brought to America around the 1840s, but origins of Halloween date back to the 5th century BC. People believed that the spirits of the dead would come back and try to inhabit the souls of the living, so they wore scary clothing to hopefully confuse the ghosts and make them believe that they were already dead. Priests would go to the homes of people who had lost relatives and pray for their dead souls in exchange for cakes and other treats.

Is It Possible To Ban Religion From All Public Places?

Banning religion from all public places is impossible.

The postings of "In God We Trust" on government and other public buildings around the country are constant reminders of how this nation was founded on religious principles. So, is it a good idea or even possible to ban religion from all public places?

 

Religious motto on currency and coins

In 1861, then Secretary of the Treasury, Salmon Chase wrote the following letter to the Director of the Mint at Philadelphia:

"Dear Sir: No nation can be strong except in the strength of God, or safe except in His defense. The trust of our people in God should be declared on our national coins. You will cause a device to be prepared without unnecessary delay with a motto expressing in the fewest and tersest words possible this national recognition. It was found that the Act of Congress dated January 18, 1837, prescribed the mottoes and devices that should be placed upon the coins of the United States."

This motto on currency and coins is not an exercise of religion, but only a reminder of those heroes who gave every citizen the right to practice religion openly and freely.

A Woman's Right To Abortion

Should abortion be a "right" under the Constitution?

I don't think that making the choice to have an abortion should ever be considered a "right". No one should have a "right" to kill anyone, other than in self-defense or when our freedoms are threatened.

Two years ago I stood in a storage room of a large metropolitan hospital while a nurse reached into a styrofoam ice chest and picked up the lifeless body of my grandson, Cole. As she placed him in my arms, I couldn't help but notice just how perfect he was. There were no visible signs of problems, yet after visiting the doctor on Friday and being told that everything was fine, on Sunday, Cole was stillborn.

I don't tell this story for your pity, but to help some of you understand how all the excitement and anticipation of bringing your new baby home can very quickly turn into tragedy. There are so many people out there who would give almost anything to have a baby and here we are discussing whether or not a woman should have the right to kill hers.