Hubby and I started dating when I was 14, and he was 17 going on 18. At the time, it was legal. Some lawmakers arbitrarily changed it.
I have a hard time with the courts going tooth and nail after any consensual relationships over 13 years old, where they involve other teenagers. I think the sex offender status being applied to people and haunting their lives is not appropriate in those instances, especially where the courts have found that jail time isn't even appropriate.
Actually, dating at 14 is OK, even in Florida. It's the horizontal mambo that'll get you in trouble.
Reminds me of a joke:
A deputy sheriff is on the night shift, and he decides to drive out to the local Lovers' Lane to see if all's well. Sure enough, there's a car parked there. The deputy takes his flashlight and approaches the car, where he sees a young man in the driver's seat reading a magazine, and a young woman in the back seat knitting. Perplexed (big surprise there), the deputy knocks on the driver's window. The young man winds the window down.
"What are you doing?" asks the deputy.
"Reading a magazine" answers the young man, in the voice one uses for addressing stupid children and Members of Parliament.
Irritated, the cop asks "And what's
she doing?"
The young man turns his head to look, then says in the same voice "Knitting. A sweater, I belive."
Angry now, the cop decides to get aggressive (again, big surprise). "All right, smartass, how old are you?"
"Nineteen" replies the young man.
"Oh, yeah? And how old is she?"
"Well," the young man says, and looks at his watch, "In seven minutes, she'll be eighteen."