I agree that children are not allowed to marry. Marriage is for adults and the legal age of majority is 18. Those who marry have sex with women. And sex with children is illegal. The legal age is 17 in 10 states, while another 21 set the standard at 16. In Maryland, Hawaii and Kansas, there are 15. North Carolina and Alaska allow them at age 14. Child marriages occur when one or both parties to the marriage are under the age of 18. Child marriage is currently legal in 44 states (only Delaware, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island have set the minimum age at 18 and eliminated all exceptions), and 20 US states do not require a minimum age for marriage, with parental or judicial renunciation. About 248,000 children were married in the United States between 2000 and 2010. The vast majority were girls married to adult men, much older. But did you know that only four US states meet this standard and that the federal government provides an exception for child marriage in cases of legal rape? Equality Now works globally to end child, early and forced marriage by leveraging our legal expertise to support partners, individual cases and legislative efforts. The United States should be no exception.
That was in 1985, but the laws that made Tyree`s marriage possible remain political for much of the United States. Although the minimum age of marriage is 18 in most states, exceptions to this requirement leave the door open for children to marry in all but six states. In California, a person under the age of 18 can marry with the consent of a parent and a judge after reviewing the case, including interviews with the parties involved. The state is one of only nine in the country that does not set a minimum age for marriage. There is no federal law prohibiting child marriage. Dawn Tyree says she was 13 when her father and stepmother urged her to marry a 32-year-old child molester. In a statement opposing the proposed ban, the ACLU said California already has sufficient legal and policy protections to protect teens from abuse, and the data does not suggest that forced child marriage is a widespread problem. The adoption of the ban on underage marriages could push young people who are already in abusive relationships further underground, and parents who want to force minor children into marriage could simply resort to informal ceremonies – far from court control. In addition, removing the possibility of marrying before the age of 18 could discourage young people who want to marry from doing so, the organization said. In 6 states, a 21-year-old cannot marry a person under the age of 18 – Missouri, Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Louisiana, Nevada.
In 1 state, Florida, a 20-year-old cannot marry someone under the age of 18. In 3 states, Georgia, Tennessee, and Ohio, a 22-year-old cannot marry someone under the age of 18. In Indiana, this is also most often true, although a 21-year-old can marry a 17-year-old. Geneviève Meyer, 41, also spent years freeing herself at the age of 15 from a forced marriage to a man nearly three decades her senior. The man lived in the same trailer park as his family in Yucaipa, California, and "befriended," though Meyer now believes he treated her for sex. When her mother and stepfather found out about the relationship, they pushed her to get married. She left the man at the age of 19, but she faced emotional and legal consequences — including a custody battle for her daughter — for the next two decades, she said. Yet shelters and domestic violence services often struggle to help married minors, especially if they have children, Acheson said. Animal shelters generally accept adults with children, but not children with their own children, she explained. Youth shelters are usually for homeless minors and do not care for those fleeing child marriage, she added. In addition, shelters are required to call a legal guardian or child protection services about unaccompanied minors, which can be scary for youth trying to escape an abusive husband or forced parent. In Louisiana, a heated debate erupted in the legislature this year as lawmakers haggled over whether to set a minimum age for marriage in the state.
Republicans — and a handful of Democrats — have argued that teens are allowed to marry in certain cases, such as pregnancy or military service. While people of all races and backgrounds may be victims of child marriage, the practice appears to more often involve minors from certain cultures, particularly those of Indian and Hispanic descent, Acheson noted. These young people may come from communities where it is acceptable for a girl under the age of 18 to marry. Child marriage has also been reported in some religious communities, such as the Mormon sects of Utah. I don`t think the government should have enough power to throw people in jail for the rest of their lives, for something completely natural. If 2 people want to be together and are willing to get married because it is necessary because the government already has too much power over people`s lives, then they should be allowed to get married.