[HPforGrownups] consent laws in the UK

[John Walton]

No: HPFGUIDX 28215

Monica Coyne wrote:

> The homosexual age of consent was lowered to 16 after the European Court
> ruling a couple of years ago.  Not that it's likely to crop up in book 5 but
> you never know.

Not quite. :( In the UK there's the House of Lords, a completely unelected
and generally conservative (small "c") chamber of the legislature who have
the power to scupper legislature which they don't like*. This they did with
the age of consent equalisation laws.

* They can't "veto" a law like the US President, but they can send it back
to the House of Commons (the one with the Prime Minister and Cabinet). With
the election called earlier this year, there wasn't enough Parliamentary
time to reintroduce the law and force it through using the Parliament Act.

Moreover, even if the legal age for homosexuals were 16, the reaction from
certain sectors of society (particularly American society) would be
vitriolic at best.

--John

____________________________________________

"It's our choices that show what we truly are, far more than our
abilities." --Albus Dumbledore

John Walton -- john at walton.vu
____________________________________________