JaniceM
Well-known Member
- Location
- still lost between two shores..
I first noticed this topic in the news (a different state, a year or so ago)- https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/d...n-child-marriage/ar-AAx5V7S?OCID=ansmsnnews11
My POV: no one should ever be allowed to force anyone to get married, regardless of age, gender, religion, or anything else, but I think not allowing minors to marry by their own choice for any reason is really going to backfire.
There are plenty of folks here on the forum who are old enough to recall the days of "You're Adult enough for this, but not Adult enough for that. My much-older siblings were in that age group. One had been serving in the military and was in Vietnam while he didn't have the right to vote. Another was in the military, married (with parental consent, and no pregnancy involved), and first child born before he had the right to vote.
These days, though, 'old enough for' is less about legal status than other 'choices.' Under this new law, individuals of 16 or 17 are 'children' who can't marry, while at the same time much younger kids are 'parenting.' I certainly don't think young teens should be doing either, but I think the new law is a disservice to older minors who want to take a responsible step and will not be allowed to do so.
Personally, I believe the only reason these days to discourage teen marriage is education- individuals these days who quit school put their futures at risk. However, there's a huge difference between discouraging and forbidding it by law.
Of all the kids I grew up with, there was only one instance of teen pregnancy; the girl left school and got married shortly after her 16th birthday. If these modern laws were in effect back then, she probably would have had no options other than raising the child as a 'single mother' or giving up the child for adoption. Plus her boyfriend might have been labeled a 'sex offender' because he was a few years older. Last I knew, the couple was still married, and had raised two additional children. All of their lives could have been destroyed if these modern laws were active back then. I think we're going to see a lot more single parents, and many more young couples living together, solely because individuals are losing their right to marry.
Again, nobody should ever be allowed to force anyone into marriage, and young marriage should be discouraged- but I do believe the new laws are a huge step in the wrong direction.
My POV: no one should ever be allowed to force anyone to get married, regardless of age, gender, religion, or anything else, but I think not allowing minors to marry by their own choice for any reason is really going to backfire.
There are plenty of folks here on the forum who are old enough to recall the days of "You're Adult enough for this, but not Adult enough for that. My much-older siblings were in that age group. One had been serving in the military and was in Vietnam while he didn't have the right to vote. Another was in the military, married (with parental consent, and no pregnancy involved), and first child born before he had the right to vote.
These days, though, 'old enough for' is less about legal status than other 'choices.' Under this new law, individuals of 16 or 17 are 'children' who can't marry, while at the same time much younger kids are 'parenting.' I certainly don't think young teens should be doing either, but I think the new law is a disservice to older minors who want to take a responsible step and will not be allowed to do so.
Personally, I believe the only reason these days to discourage teen marriage is education- individuals these days who quit school put their futures at risk. However, there's a huge difference between discouraging and forbidding it by law.
Of all the kids I grew up with, there was only one instance of teen pregnancy; the girl left school and got married shortly after her 16th birthday. If these modern laws were in effect back then, she probably would have had no options other than raising the child as a 'single mother' or giving up the child for adoption. Plus her boyfriend might have been labeled a 'sex offender' because he was a few years older. Last I knew, the couple was still married, and had raised two additional children. All of their lives could have been destroyed if these modern laws were active back then. I think we're going to see a lot more single parents, and many more young couples living together, solely because individuals are losing their right to marry.
Again, nobody should ever be allowed to force anyone into marriage, and young marriage should be discouraged- but I do believe the new laws are a huge step in the wrong direction.
