For us, 16 is perfectly legal to have sex with another person who's 16 or over. But a significant proportion of teenagers have sex before then and it's usually with others below the age of 16 - as with you, it tends not to be prosecuted.

With no sex happening in this example (so far), and that was clear to all people, I really couldn't figure out why there would be a law against kissing for two consenting people.