Children

It has long been accepted that there are special rules for children both in the law and in society. The first that come to mind is child pornography defined as visual portrayals of sexually explicit behavior. Child must be 13 to work, 16 to marry and 18 to vote, sign contracts, purchase tobacco and/of alcohol and inherit. In MN a person under 16 cannot stay at home alone more than 24 hours. Under age 18 a person goes to juvenile court. The point is that children are viewed differently in the eyes of the law and of society in general. These rules have been expanding in recent years. Children can now get condoms from the school without parents approval. In MN no parental involvement is needed for a minor to get an abortion if the child gets court approval. The rules are now expanding again as children want to change their gender. A school district in Minnesota worked with local government and medical professionals to help a 16-year old boy “transition” to the opposite sex – without parental consent and without a court order legally emancipating him.  If this is what society wants then so be it but much of this has happened without most people being aware. There are currently 9,000 gender changing surgeries each year and this is a surprise to most people.