Ramblings

Grits for Breakfast discusses how Texas law treats teens, in the context of a proposed law raising the legal age for purchasing tobacco in Texas to 19. Basically he points out that under state and federal law:

15 years old - not old enough to do anything meaningful
16 years old - drive a motor vehicle without supervision, get married with parental consent, legally enter the workforce and pay taxes on your income
17 years old - enter into legally binding contracts, get married without parental consent, join the military with parental consent, drop out of school, will be tried as an adult (and face full legal culpability) in state criminal cases, watch an R-rated movie without supervision, decide who you want to have unmarried sex with.
18 years old - buy tobacco, star in porn, work as a stripper, join the military without parental consent, buy long guns, vote
21 years old - buy handguns, buy alcohol

To be clear, 17 is not the age at which Texans CAN be tried as adults - it's the age that Texans MUST be tried as adults.

In what universe does this make sense? You can be trusted with a grenade launcher 4 years before you can be trusted with a beer. And by the way, marriage seems like a far more momentous decision than which comptroller to vote for, but Texas says you can do the former at 16 and the latter at 18.

By this theory, 17 year olds are responsible enough to face life in prison for any crimes they commit. If kids' brains aren't developed enough to handle alcohol, I don't think they're developed enough to become strippers, either.