Nonsense, you seem to be confusing the meanings of defend and support. Support in this instance might be thought perverse by some, but it's entirely proper to defend against obvious bigotry.
The law is where it is for good reasons, reached after many re-examinations and gradual changes. And it's proved to be correct in this case, since the 16 year old warned the Minister not to try anything, showing he had both awareness of the potential outcome and the capacity to defend himself.
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I believe that many 16 year olds are not capable of identifying their sexuality. It's a massive decision at a very confusing stage of a persons development. Some may be decided, but certainly a significant number are not and are confused.
If a confused 16 year old boy has the 42 year old Scottish Finance Minister wanting to give him one up the arse, and flattering him with hundreds of complimentary messages, he may be impressed, influenced or coerced by his status into making a poor decision. This is likely to be a decision that he could regret, or at worst, a decision which may damage him.
Mackay clearly knew what he was doing regardless of whether it was some form of sting or not. Mackay was telling the boy to delete the flattering comments that he had sent to him. So why would he do that if everything was normal? The reason he told the boy to delete the messages was because he knew his behaviour was wrong. Mackay thought there was a slice of risk free young arse on offer, so he went for it, thinking he could get away with it. It's as dirty and as simple as that.
My view is that if two people love each other, that is a good thing regardless of whether they are of the same sex or of different sexes. Much better that people love rather than hate. Mackay doesn't fit into any part of this statement. He is a predator who uses his status to procure sex with juveniles.