A comment here https://www.reddit.com/r/legaladviceofftopic/comments/8ouarp/do_statutory_rape_laws_apply_in_the_united_states/

Says that marital rape is illegal everywhere while it does exempt statutory rape in some places. If true:

To have a reasonable discussion about the topic, one must be able to rationally discuss that statutory rape is rape between consenting people where one party is considered unable to consent due to law. Marriage acts as exempting the inability to consent, making it legal.

For that to stand during a marriage, both parties must still consent, else it’s illegal marital rape.

One can argue that someone under 18 should never be able to lawfully consent, but the reality is people under 18 are constantly choosing to have sex, so a non-nuanced ban doesn’t reflect reality.

Hard lines are always nonsense, as 17.99+18 being hard illegal and 18.0+55 being totally fine, is also nonsense. So what is a good solution that protects the people who need to be protected and allows the people who want and should have their freedom? Probably isn’t one.

Marriage is a government tax and legal document. It doesn’t give, take, or mandate much else.