Kentucky: Child marriage ban delayed after opposition from conservative group
Under current law, 16 and 17-year-olds can marry with their parents’ permission. Any age under 16 can also get wed, as long as they are pregnant and marrying the father of their child.
A new bill that would prohibit anyone aged 16 or under from marrying and prevent any 17-year old from tying the knot without the approval of a judge, who would have to be convinced that the minor is mature, self-sufficient and not being coerced into marriage.
More than 200,000 children married in US over the last 15 years
Three 10-year-old girls and an 11-year-old boy were among the youngest to wed, under legal loopholes which allow minors to marry in certain circumstances.
The minimum age for marriage across most of the US is 18, but every state has exemptions – such as parental consent or pregnancy – which allow younger children to tie the knot.
Kids don't stand a chance!
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scarlettm512 ago
Even if a 10 year girl is pregnant -- that is no reason for her to get married. It is reason, however, for the adults in her life to be investigated to find out how this was allowed to happen (failure to supervise, molestation, etc.). You cannot make a bad situation (a child getting pregnant) better by making an equally bad mistake (forcing them into a marriage that they are not ready for or which they do not actually want).
A 16 year old can be engaged for 2 years until they are legally old enough to get married. If the relationship doesn't last long enough to get to the legal age of marriage, then it would have been a mistake to get married anyway.
Immelda ago
Exactly, i wonder how many children were forced to marry their rapists.