Slog - Comments on Youth Pastor Watch

Comment by Lawyer

Lawyer — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 14:24:35 -0800

Lawrence v. Texas involved consenting adults. An adult having sex with a child will not have the same substantive due process rights as an adult having sex with another consenting adult. I haven't seen the state statute at issue, but as applied to an adult having sex with a child, Lawrence v. Texas is not controlling.

Comment by Are your tats fading?

Are your tats fading? — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 14:28:37 -0800

COMMENT DELETED: Off-Topic

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Comment by Are your tats fading?

Are your tats fading? — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 14:29:22 -0800

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Comment by Fnarf

Fnarf — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 14:29:23 -0800

Maybe they should dip 'em in fish guts before sending them to church.

Comment by teve

teve — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 14:30:52 -0800

Dan! Is it not time to compile all these youth pastor updates and release them as a book??? Maybe with some new writing in between and some follow-up on some of these and some statistics?

Comment by jon c

jon c — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 14:44:49 -0800

oregon's sodomy statute only covers situations where the victim did not give valid consent. it's basically the rape statute, but for "deviate sexual intercourse" instead of just plain old "sexual intercourse."
http://www.leg.state.or.us/ors/163.html

Comment by vooodooo84

vooodooo84 — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 14:46:03 -0800

Laws are not automatically taken off the books even if they are unconstitutional, Washington has a statute that criminalizes flag burning even though that law is unconstitutional.

RCW 9.86.030

Comment by ellarosa

ellarosa — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 14:46:46 -0800

sodomy is always listed separately, as in a list of rape offenses when you read news stories, i.e.: one count of sodomy, two counts of forced oral copulation, one count of battery, etc. consensually not illegal, but as an act of rape they are all counted individually as criminal actions, to add up to an appropriate sentence, supposedly.

Comment by stats

stats — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 14:56:25 -0800

I am not sure what the point of these posts are, and what the analogy to shark attacks is supposed to show. I thought you were parodying the media's coverage of shark attacks, e.g., lots of hysteria, lots of gory details, lots of anecdotal stories, but no actual data nor level-headed risk assesment. However, this "pastor watch" seems to have assumed a life of its own and become identical to what you were parodying in the first place. If anecdotal evidence of shark attacks does not convince you that shark attacks are a serious problem, then anecdotal evidence of "pastor attacks" should not convince you that "pastor attacks" are a problem.

Comment by Mr. Joshua

Mr. Joshua — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 15:05:12 -0800

Yes, it is horrifying that a Youth Pastor was also a child molestor.

But he molested a student...who he met at a school. That seems a far cry from saying the church was that dangerous. If he was successfully grooming victims at church, he wouldn't need to teach, right?

The thing about Christian Schools (and youth pastors, of course) is that they, unlike public schools, don't have unions. Teachers Unions establish protocol and means for teacher investigation of allegations and thus there are more limits to what ends up in the news.

Comment by infrequent

infrequent — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 15:23:22 -0800

though the site is having trouble at present, schools wouldn't seem to be much safer:
http://www.badbadteacher.com/

Comment by per os et per anum

per os et per anum — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 17:07:08 -0800

jon c. was right: only consensual sodomy was decriminalized. The rest was left in the statute books.

Comment by Fly-Over Illinois

Fly-Over Illinois — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 17:13:51 -0800

Dan, I agree with @5 please list these as a book or at least something I can copy and paste all at once to show my youth pastor.

Comment by apres_moi

apres_moi — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 17:18:45 -0800

Dan, it's the 69th YPW!!! Congrats :)

Comment by Self-Hating Hipster

Self-Hating Hipster — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 18:52:36 -0800

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Comment by Bento

Bento — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 20:52:01 -0800

stats @ 9 - unless I'm wrong, the primary aim of YPW was never meant to be a parody of media hysteria (over shark attacks??). It is really about pointing out the hypocrisy of the Christian claims to some higher morality.

And it's a point well made. Bring out the book, Dan!

Comment by gex

gex — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 10:47:01 -0800

At crux in Lawrence v. Texas was that the anti-sodomy laws targeted homosexuals only. That was found to be in violation of equal protection. What went unanswered was whether the state could have anti-sodomy laws on the books that applied to everyone.