I would respectfully suggest that the real problem is not the "age difference", but the "abuse of authority". This is the same reason that teacher-student, supervisor-subordinate, doctor-patient, priest-penitant and officer-enlisted relationships are considered inapproprite....regardless of "touching" or comsumation. If the Representative were some 50-plus businessman chatting-up your 16-yo neighbor's son, the lot of you would not be calling for his head...there would just be a lot of "tsk, tsk'ing" and social-frowning.
I see the resignation as an acknowledgement of personal shame for inappropriate behavior and exposed hypocrisy, not criminality...so far. And I think the cry of "Pedophile !!" is yet-unjustified and politically-motivated.
What's unfortunate for the G/L community is that "we" have taken yet-another P.R. black-eye courtesy of one of elders inability to keep his (typing) hands to himself. The general public will just assume that he's been deflowering young lads on his House office-coach, and mutter "...another closet-case fag, they are ALL like that".
