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So two young men are suing Bishop Eddie Long, alleging that he lied to them and tricked them and basically brainwashed them into believing that it was God's will that they sexually service the good Bishop.
They were underage boys when the "grooming" and brainwashing started, their lawsuit says, but they were above the age of sexual consent by the time things got physical.
Let's simplify the question. Suppose a man of the cloth (Reverend, Rabbi, Father, whatever... some spiritual leader for some well-established religion) uses the same kind of come-on lines with members of his congregation, and gets some nookie as a result of it?
He talks / lies / begs/ commands his way into the pants of some adult men or women who are his 'flock'.
Should this be a crime? Should it be the breach of some duty of care that the State can use its courts to enforce? Do we want the State in the position of saying, "You didn't do your job as a minister of the Gospel good enough. You didn't live up to biblical principles. You preached morality but did immorality. So you must pay. Or you must go to prison."
Some states have actual felony sex offenses for religious figures who have sex with their sheep. Um, I mean members of their flock. I mean their faithful followers. Is this right?
Are religious people so weak-minded and gullible that they need this kind of protection? Can't they be trusted to spot bull-droppings when they hear it?
So the bottom line is that a layperson who meets a pick-up at a singles' bar and say: "Have sex with me, because it's God's will" is not breaking any law, just being sleazy. But the preacher who does it to a churchgoing person is now a predator who has victimized somebody.
What other sleazy pick-up lines should be unlawful? Have sex with me because the world is ending and we have to go out with a bang? Have sex with me because I'm terminally ill (not contagious, though!) and this is my "Make-A-Wish" wish? Have sex with me because I'm a genius / athlete / model and will give you the best babies?
I don't think adult teacher-student relationships should be illegal, unless the teacher uses his or per position to threaten some sanction for NOT having sex, or giving rewards for it. But I'm in the minority on that. Not just for 50 year old male teachers lusting after 17 year old high school girls. It would be equally illegal in some jurisidictions for a 40 year old single college professor to have sex with a 40-year old divorced student.
They were underage boys when the "grooming" and brainwashing started, their lawsuit says, but they were above the age of sexual consent by the time things got physical.
Let's simplify the question. Suppose a man of the cloth (Reverend, Rabbi, Father, whatever... some spiritual leader for some well-established religion) uses the same kind of come-on lines with members of his congregation, and gets some nookie as a result of it?
He talks / lies / begs/ commands his way into the pants of some adult men or women who are his 'flock'.
Should this be a crime? Should it be the breach of some duty of care that the State can use its courts to enforce? Do we want the State in the position of saying, "You didn't do your job as a minister of the Gospel good enough. You didn't live up to biblical principles. You preached morality but did immorality. So you must pay. Or you must go to prison."
Some states have actual felony sex offenses for religious figures who have sex with their sheep. Um, I mean members of their flock. I mean their faithful followers. Is this right?
Are religious people so weak-minded and gullible that they need this kind of protection? Can't they be trusted to spot bull-droppings when they hear it?
So the bottom line is that a layperson who meets a pick-up at a singles' bar and say: "Have sex with me, because it's God's will" is not breaking any law, just being sleazy. But the preacher who does it to a churchgoing person is now a predator who has victimized somebody.
What other sleazy pick-up lines should be unlawful? Have sex with me because the world is ending and we have to go out with a bang? Have sex with me because I'm terminally ill (not contagious, though!) and this is my "Make-A-Wish" wish? Have sex with me because I'm a genius / athlete / model and will give you the best babies?
I don't think adult teacher-student relationships should be illegal, unless the teacher uses his or per position to threaten some sanction for NOT having sex, or giving rewards for it. But I'm in the minority on that. Not just for 50 year old male teachers lusting after 17 year old high school girls. It would be equally illegal in some jurisidictions for a 40 year old single college professor to have sex with a 40-year old divorced student.