ok, I was not aware that mishigan was suddenly CT, FL, IN or texas.
I think you should read that "law" alittle closer.
Consent and Advice
Though the age of consent (i.e. the age at which an individual can legally agree to have sex) varies from state to state – and often splits along gender lines – it is definitive in one aspect: it refers to sexual acts between heterosexuals. In over half the states in the U.S., sex between homosexuals is either not addressed by existing laws or is considered a crime.
Recent changes in the laws governing consensual sex between minors or an adult 18 years of age and a minor 14-16 years of age have acknowledged that this intimacy is not the same as molestation. The new laws, named “Romeo and Juliet laws” after Shakespeare’s tragic teenage lovers, attempt to correct overly harsh penalties and prison terms meted out over the years. In 2007, these laws went into effect in Connecticut, Florida, Indiana and Texas.
In Florida, a 28-year-old man who’d been placed on the state’s sex offender registry was able to remove his name after passage of Florida’s Romeo and Juliet law in July 2007. At age 17, Anthony Croce began having sex with his 15-year-old girlfriend; when he turned 18, the girl’s disapproving mother pressed charges and Croce plead no contest. He was then legally compelled to register as a sex offender.
Florida’s new law still regards underage sex as a crime, but a judge may now determine whether to strike the sex offender designation from those previously convicted. Cases that may lead to an overturned designation would involve a victim who is age 14-17 and has agreed to consensual sex; the offender would have to be no more than 4 years older than the victim and have no other sex crimes on his record.
One well-publicized case demonstrating the need for Romeo and Juliet legislation is that of Genarlow Wilson, a 17-year-old who was imprisoned for having consensual oral sex with a 15-year-old female. An athlete and honor student, Wilson was videotaped at a New Year’s Eve celebration engaging in oral sex and was sentenced to ten years for aggravated child molestation. After serving jail time from 2003-2007, the Georgia Supreme Court ruled that Wilson should be released; and this decision was followed by a change in state law that reduced consensual sex between teenagers to a misdemeanor with a maximum sentence of one year.
