You think the respective ages are a pragmatic matter, you want to leave it up to the teleiophiles in the children's lives to sort it out based on what's best for the children, and you think there should be no prosecution if a child is adamant they were not harmed. I agree with all of that and I stand by the same principles.

Our broader disagreement has to do with changing society, and yes, we've been over pretty much everything as far as that's concerned.

Naturally, you still say it is wrong - pragmatically-speaking - for a man to allow a sexual relationship with a young girl today.

I agree.

However, I would not agree that pedophiles have a moral responsibility to abstain where the pragmatic considerations fall in their favour.

And I would not agree that pedophiles have any kind of responsibility to abstain from courtship behavior.

And when the age of consent and associated moral crusade tramples a happy relationship and turns it unrecognizably dismal, and those lives are damaged in the process, usually severely and sometimes lastingly: I feel only sympathy towards every party except the one that did the damage.

~ RBL