I am 16, and live in the state of Washington. I have known this guy for a year and we really like each other. He is 19. I just want to know if it is legal for me to date him because I heard that if you're 16, you can date people 3 years older than you, and we are 2 1/2 years apart.

Legal? Yes. A good idea? no.

What do your parents say?

Well you heard wrong. There are no laws about dating. What you may have heard is that it may be illegal for you to have sex with him.

If your parents approve of your dating him and you don't get intimate then no laws have been violated.

This is on the edge of a viable age gap though.

There are no dating laws, the laws in effect have to do with having sex. At 16 your parents still have the rights to allow or not allow you to date certain people