I don't think sexual acts between 19 and 16 year olds have got anything to do with pedophilia. Just because it happens to be illegal in the US doesn't mean every 19 year-old person is pedophile for having sex with a 16 year old. After all, the age of consent is 16 in most European countries.
That said, I think pedophilia is a mental disorder. But this is just my opinion. I've got no proof whatsoever in either direction. But I do know that at, say, 14 years old I definitely didn't know what I wanted sexually. I was probably old enough to say no if I didn't want to do something. But thinking back I realise on how many occasions I was influenced by adults, thinking it was my very own view of things.
And so I think the risk to a child, even if pedophilia was just another trait of human sexuality, is far too high to legalise it.
This may be unfortunate for those affected, but in my opinion the well-being of children is to be valued far higher than the sexual desires of an adult. |
