Raise age of consent, make exception for ‘sexting’
While important problems are addressed in the proposed child pornography bills, a tragic inconsistency remains [“Bolster the fight against child porn,” Opinion, Mar. 1]. The logic presented for these bills is to protect minors under 18 from child abuse. However, the age of consent in Washington is 16.
State laws permit a 16-year-old to have sex with any and all takers. However, it would be a felony to have a picture on a cellphone of her flashing a breast. To be consistent, either raise the age of consent to 18 or reduce the definition of child pornography to 16.
Also, while “sexting” is less common than smoking or drinking, these crimes are misdemeanors. About 15 percent of 16-year-olds have sent an explicit image of themselves. With this law, a minor sexting a friend faces the same legal peril as a distributor of child pornography involving 7-year-olds. There should be an exception in the law for possessor of a few images of someone close in age. Finally, people engaged in “sexting” should not be put on the sex-offender registry. His or her presence on the registry dilutes the impact of the sex offenders we should be wary of.
While I trust Rob McKenna to be reasonable with this law, he will not always be the state’s attorney general. The laws need to reflect what we as a state intend.
— Bill Hughes, Bellevue