The Associated Press brief printed in the Sun Journal Nov. 27 with the headline, “Teen elopers mark 70 years of love” was very touching. However, if a 19-year-old man were to elope with a 14-year-old girl in this day and age, in some states he could be considered a pedophile, a child sexual predator, and face charges of statutory rape. If convicted, he could be forced to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life. He would also, no doubt, be ostracized by friends and family.

I guess attitudes about sexual maturity and laws regarding sexual behavior have changed in the last few decades.

Mark Tenneson, Livermore Falls