This editorial appeared in the Myrtle Beach Sun on Wednesday, Oct. 29, 2008.
S.C. voters on ballots Tuesday will find three constitutional amendment questions in addition to other issues including candidates for a raft of elected offices.
All three constitutional amendment questions deserve "Yes" votes, although there are potential problems in all three questions.
Amendment 1: Your "yes" vote deletes the wording (Section 33, Article III) of the Constitution saying an unmarried woman must be at least 14 years of age to consent to sexual intercourse. According to the official explanation, "Deleting this section would allow the state legislature to set the age of consent. Currently, the state legislature has the age of consent set at 16 for most cases."
A "no" vote leaves the section in place.
Surely most voters would agree, without argument, that 14 is too young an age for a girl to consent to sex and removing the age of consent for sex from the S.C. Constitution is a good idea.
To read the complete editorial, visit The Myrtle Beach Sun.