Runaway laws for teens should be abolished

Rebuttal #1: Appeal to TraditionYou said:"Before World War II, people finished school at 8th grade (excluding higher education). College students still succeed and they are not subject to the same restrictions high schoolers are. "This again like your argument for child marriage before, is a fallacious appeal to tradition. There are reasons why children are kept in school longer, and it is because we have excelled in human rights and realized the value of an education in this technological age. Simply because people at some point in the past handled school differently, in no way suggests we should continue in their footsteps. Rebuttal #2: Situation for LeavingMy argument is not in any way suggesting that children should be confined to their homes if a possible abusive situation exists. There are organizations in the United States that can protect children from these situations, rather than the child themselves taking the initiative to run off on their own and possibly incur more harm. Remember, my opponent's contention is that teenagers at the age of 13 should be allowed to leave their homes, and that by law, no one would be able to interfere with their decision and return them home or to some kind of protective service. Rebuttal #3: Alternative Support Structure? You said:"We can offer alternative services to help them support themselves. "Please note that my opponent has not offered any kind of realistic solution to the problem of runaway/homeless teens and the drop out rate. Simply saying we need to do something about that ignores the fact that his motion to allow teens to run away and the state have no power to return them to saftey would greatly exacerbate this problem. Rebuttal #4: Sex Trafficking Statistics? You said:"62% of confirmed sex trafficking victims are 25 or older. "May the reader be aware that my opponent has not supplied any sources so as to corraborate this statistic. Here are some actual statistics on Sex Trafficking that give you a true picture of the reality of the issue. "The average age at which girls first become victims of prostitution is 12 to 14. "[1][2]This demonstrates, that even if 62% of sex trafficking victims in the US are 25 or older (can't find that anywhere) it still ignores the fact that most of them first became victims when they were between the ages of 12 to 14. Rebuttal #5: Teen homelessnessYou said:"We need to resolve that issue. "Again, this desire to resolve the issue ignores the blatant fact that what you have proposed would increase drastically the overall population of homeless youth. Teenagers 12 to 15 aren't looking around to be independent and totally responsible for their well-being and living. They often run away to escape suffering due to family issues, as previously mentioned. Teenagers in these emotional states would not in any case, even disregarding age be accepted for a petition to become emancipated. As my opponent has not refuted any of my claims regarding the connection between homelessness and teen runaways (a connection made in all statistics on the matter). It must be accepted that his contention must be rejected. Rebuttal #6: Teen Law Suit Part 2Again the connection to 18 year olds is unwarranted, as an 18 year old actually has the capacity to generate income and receive credit, loans, etc. Also, your appeal to receive a free attorney is refuted by the fact that this does not apply. In the case of Gideon v. Wainwright 1963, the Supreme Court ruled that the government must provide free attorney for indigent defense, or in other words, in the instance the criminal defendant cannot provide an attorney for himself. [3] This only applies to CRIMINAL cases, and if the person is the defendant. Rebuttal #7: The Teen BrainYou said:"Some have the same cognitive functioning as adults. "No evidence or sources are provided to demonstrate that the reasoning capacities of a 13 year old can be on the same level of an adult. You also said:"That study on the teen brain did not take into account the environment that shape teens brains. If we compared the brains of teens in countries where they don't go to school and marry young, or brains of teens before the industrial revolution, we might see differences. "Even if this point is of much consequence, I would be very curious to see how the environment of a child forced into an early marriage, or a teen who drops out of school somehow ends up developing faster cognitively as a consequence. This argument in the end only would on the surface (because you provided no kind of evidence) turn out to be a benefit to my position. Rebuttal #8: Early Teen PregnancyYou said:"Teen pregnancy studies began in the 20th century. Teen mothers have existed throughout history and many of their children did fine. "Here again we have the lack of any kind of evidence towards the idea that at some point (when child mortality rate was even worse)[4] early teen pregnancies were not harmful as they are today, even with the advancement of modern medicine. Conclusion:As I addressed the reasons for emancipation laws, which exist in many states (we can't have the debate about every single state as many have differing circumstances) I did not see fit to address in detail your final remarks about the emancipation laws. However, do to my opponent's failure to provide sufficient evidence as to the benefit of having minors freely emancipate themselves. I believe my motion to dismiss this idea based upon the well subtantiated and documented dangers should be sustained. Kind Regards,TrueScotsman[1] . http://www.fbi.gov...[2] . https://www.ncjrs.gov...[3] . http://en.wikipedia.org...[4] . http://chnm.gmu.edu...