Spring Break
Learn the sex laws before getting frisky
That's What She Said
Issue date: 11/15/07
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There are some things you should know about federal sex laws: They're vague, sometimes contain loopholes and are rarely as entertaining as I'd like.
I find these laws to be totally reasonable and not at all preventive of a fantastic sex life. The only restrictions are ones that are reasonable to have in place anyway. You can still have kinky sex as long as you don't sacrifice a goat in the process and as long as you don't break any of the regular criminal code.
Quite frankly, the federal sex laws are some of the most reasonable statutes I've seen. It's the state laws that get obscure and unfairly restrictive.
Here's a summary of the intents to avoid, all taken from Title 18, Part I of U.S. Code:
Don't intend to commit a sexual act with a minor. Especially don't intend it while transporting said minor across state lines.
Loophole: Wait till she's 18. Or cease to be so bad at life. And don't worry about your girlfriend who's still in high school: There's a legitimate legal loophole for close-in-age cases.
Just for clarification and ass-covering's sake, a sexual act is very explicitly defined in Chapter 109A, Section 2246. The key word here is contact. Specifically, penis-vulva, penis-anus, mouth-penis, mouth-vulva and mouth-anus.
Keep in mind that the slightest penetration counts. Furthermore, sexual misconduct can include the penetration with genitals, hands, fingers or "any object" into the anal or genital opening.
Possible loophole: all those deviant non-pubic orifices.
Don't intend to commit an illicit sex act while abroad. Illicit acts are any sexual act with an individual under 18, regardless of what the age of consent is where you might have traveled.
Loophole: Pay the 14-year-old single mother and heroin addict to tell you, in detail, what she would do to you if it were legal.
Federal law defines a commercial sex act as receiving or giving "anything of value" in exchange for a sexual act. I hope I can "exchange" the guy in the front row of my early morning lecture or a chair from the nearest common room. Your window screen could probably get you at least an hour if you bargain well.
I find these laws to be totally reasonable and not at all preventive of a fantastic sex life. The only restrictions are ones that are reasonable to have in place anyway. You can still have kinky sex as long as you don't sacrifice a goat in the process and as long as you don't break any of the regular criminal code.
Quite frankly, the federal sex laws are some of the most reasonable statutes I've seen. It's the state laws that get obscure and unfairly restrictive.
Here's a summary of the intents to avoid, all taken from Title 18, Part I of U.S. Code:
Don't intend to commit a sexual act with a minor. Especially don't intend it while transporting said minor across state lines.
Loophole: Wait till she's 18. Or cease to be so bad at life. And don't worry about your girlfriend who's still in high school: There's a legitimate legal loophole for close-in-age cases.
Just for clarification and ass-covering's sake, a sexual act is very explicitly defined in Chapter 109A, Section 2246. The key word here is contact. Specifically, penis-vulva, penis-anus, mouth-penis, mouth-vulva and mouth-anus.
Keep in mind that the slightest penetration counts. Furthermore, sexual misconduct can include the penetration with genitals, hands, fingers or "any object" into the anal or genital opening.
Possible loophole: all those deviant non-pubic orifices.
Don't intend to commit an illicit sex act while abroad. Illicit acts are any sexual act with an individual under 18, regardless of what the age of consent is where you might have traveled.
Loophole: Pay the 14-year-old single mother and heroin addict to tell you, in detail, what she would do to you if it were legal.
Federal law defines a commercial sex act as receiving or giving "anything of value" in exchange for a sexual act. I hope I can "exchange" the guy in the front row of my early morning lecture or a chair from the nearest common room. Your window screen could probably get you at least an hour if you bargain well.
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