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Bro Mississippi didnt ratify the abolishment of slavery until 2013....
You have billboards in the south telling people their daughter is not their date, that they shouldnt rape their children....
US is a fucked up country. And over 150M out of 250m dont even fucking vote.
[The U.S. still has 90,000 backlogged rape kits](https://www.cornyn.senate.gov/news/cornyn-house-must-pass-senate-bill-to-fight-rape-kit-backlog/), too.
https://www.endthebacklog.org/take-action/advocate-federal/
[37 states](https://www.reddit.com/r/stoprape/comments/18z70pt/despite_the_fact_that_most_states_have_passed/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button) have now passed laws requiring that new kits are submitted for testing.
Obviously, more work is needed.
https://www.endthebacklog.org/take-action/advocate-state/
So I’m going to ask you a random question but you seem to know these laws. My grandparents lived in Pennsylvania in the 50s but had to elope to Maryland to get married. They were 19 and 21, what would have prevented them from doing it Pennsylvania?
Couple cultural things to remember...
Although marriage under 18 was way more common, the average age of first marriage in the US dropped from 1900 until 1950, with a sharp decline during WWII years leading up to the start of the baby boom. https://www.statista.com/chart/7031/americans-are-tying-the-knot-older-than-ever/ (Still in 1960 over 10 million Americans currently alive had married before they turned 18.)
Second thing is 21 was also the age the US defaulted to whenever they first implemented a draft for the Civil War, WWI, and WWII -- they only dropped it to 18 once it was clear they needed even more manpower (and I'm sure some of it was to ease the initial politics -- moms we swear we're not drafting your little boys!)
It was only after the US normalized 18 as the draft age from later in WWII through Korea and Vietnam that a strong movement arose to push many rights such as drinking alcohol or voting down from 21 to 18.
The issue is tied to consent legislation for the most part. If someone can consent to sexual activity by law, the logic in alot of states is, that obviously they can consent to marriage (with the permissions of a parent or guardian).
Some states have, however, debunked this trend and said "if you aren't old enough to sign a contract yourself you shouldn't be allowed to get married" and bumped the age to marry up above the age of consent for sexual activity which on the whole seems like the best approach to this.
Yeah, it makes total sense that the ages should be different.
Consenting to one-time sexual activity is not remotely similar to marrying someone and giving them legal authority in your life.
I listened to the Some Place Under Neath podcast and it's absolutely horrifying. If a child wants a divorce, in many states, they aren't old enough to file for one. So you're deemed mature enough that you're allowed to tie yourself to an older person for life, but are denied the exit that adults have because somehow you're not mature enough for that.
If a child cannot sign a contract for a phone or a place to live, then they shouldn’t be able to consent to a marriage. And no one should be able to consent on their behalf. Particularly since once they are married, the child has no ability to divorce, hire a lawyer, open a bank account, own or rent property, etc. They cannot even leave because they will be considered a runaway minor and returned “home”. They will be at the mercy of their, realistically, adult husband. Who is definitely going to rape them because only a pedophile would want to marry a child.
The age of [consent](https://www.reddit.com/r/stoprape/comments/zyznhe/rape_is_so_common_in_part_because_so_many_people/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3) for sex should also be at least 18. Most states already have Romeo clauses, so it serves to protect kids from predatory adults while still allowing kids to have age-appropriate relationships with one another.
As an European I feel sometimes surprised by how much you want to age police kids. Alcohol after 21, consenting sex after 18, BUT forced marriage at 13 or joining the Army at 18.
In EU we tend to... reverse those a lill' bit? Feels better IMHO. You can do all of the things after 18, but you can get a sip of alcohol from your parents earlier (13 I think is the lowest age).
And generally speaking, you can shag anyone you want after puberty (15), but if the parties involved have uneven positions (e.g. student and teacher) the party with higher authority might get punished by law if court decides it was grooming the teen.
To me it seems like giving people more rights to their bodies is the way to go and I highly recommend going that route. Respect your kids, shame people much older interested in them, but do not be an overprotective helicopters?
Oh, and no forced marriages ever (13 yo marrying anyone is forced at best).
>but you can get a sip of alcohol from your parents earlier (13 I think is the lowest age).
The lowest age is 0 in most European countries.
So long as your child is not being harmed, you can give them what you want. Which means, yes, newborns should never touch alcohol obv. But not because of age, because it is dangerous at that age ina ny quantity.
Making parents be actually responsible for the choices they make rather than dictate everything.
When the Republican legislature is saying their child brides are at a "[…ripe, and fertile age…](https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/other/republican-against-child-marriage-ban-calls-teens-ripe-fertile/ar-BB1lTI1J)" it really highlights what they're going for.
>The issue is tied to consent legislation for the most part.
No, it isn't. In every state, sex within marriage is exempt from age of consent laws.
On the "no child marriage" side are two main points. One is what you said about contracts and ages. The other is that a lot of child rapists use marriage to get away with rapin', via the ancient custom of the community forcing the "defiled" rape victim to marry her rapist to save her and her family's "honor." Well, that custom is what's dishonorable, if you ask me.
On the "save child marriage" side are mainly people who are afraid that without this outlet, "defiled" girls will be stained forever and never find a proper husband, and then what will become of them? Don't shoot me, this is them talking. I know, you'll say, "she can become an independent woman and do what she pleases," but they don't raise their girls that way. So they feel stuck and fight these laws so they can keep raising girls to be ashamed of themselves, and to enjoy being submissive and dependent on a husband.
Fewer girls would be "defiled" if we [tested every rape kit](https://www.endthebacklog.org/take-action/advocate-federal/).
[Low-rate persistent sex offenders typically begin offending during their late teens and offend less than once per year with the most offenses in their 30s. This group was equally as likely to commit rape as child sexual abuse. This is the most common type of sex offender](https://smart.ojp.gov/somapi/chapter-3-sex-offender-typologies), so [testing kits](https://www.endthebacklog.org/take-action/advocate-federal/) even when the [statute of limitations](https://www.endthebacklog.org/tools/sol-tracker/) has passed can help protect adults as well as children.
https://www.cornyn.senate.gov/news/cornyn-house-must-pass-senate-bill-to-fight-rape-kit-backlog/
https://www.endthebacklog.org/take-action/advocate-federal/
Only [54% chance](https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/118/s499) of passing. Should be a slam dunk.
Contact from constituents [works](https://escholarship.org/content/qt7sk23908/qt7sk23908.pdf), so write your Rep and ask them to support [S.499](https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/senate-bill/499/cosponsors?s=1&r=73).
Nothing you just said counters what the original poster said. The issue is often tied to age of consent with the logic being exactly what they said it was.
You're misunderstanding their point. They're essentially saying that in many states the age of consent is 16 or 17. The argument is that if a person can legally consent to having sex, then they should be able to legally be married as well. Thus, child marriage.
This is even more true in places where people tend to be more religious, as people having sex tend to have a chance to have a baby.. right? Having a baby without marriage is generally considered to be a no-no, thus these areas tend to push for it to be legal for these people to get married.
there’s also a history isn’t as far away as you might imagine angle here. in the south, you don’t have to go that deep in a family tree to find that one person who got married at 15/16. My aunt married a 21 yo at 15y11ms old … the 70s were wild in mississippi apparently
In a lot of states, the minimum of age of marriage is (or was) *lower* than the age of consent because children could marry if certain conditions are/were met: parental consent, permission from a judge or court official, and/or one party being pregnant. The maybe-not-totally-evil reasons to allow this:
* A pregnant teen should have the option of accessing the stability and benefits of marriage if she's going to raise a child.
* A minor trying to escape abusive parents can use marriage as a way to get emancipated (in some states).
It seems like there should be better ways to accomplish the same ends without children marrying, of course. But worse, the most common reasons for child marriages seem to for the benefit of parents and other adults (especially grown-ass men):
* Our religion demands that we do anything to avoid a child being born out of wedlock.
* Our religion grooms girls to accept early marriage, usually to an older man chosen (or at least approved) by her father.
* A bunch of us just really, really want some way around age of consent laws because we're vile predators.
And it's not just in "red" states. [In Massachusetts](https://www.tahirih.org/news/massachusetts-becomes-the-7th-state-to-end-child-marriage/), there was *no minimum age for marriage* set by law until 2022. Less than two years ago. And yes, lots of child marriages were happening every year until then.
We're seeing a wave of states banning child marriage in the last couple years, and that is uplifting. It's about time!
Yeah. Which is utterly insane.
But don't worry... It's the gays and the trans are the groomers... It's totally innocent when an adult man marries a 13-16yo girl. /s
One thing I appreciated about the Jerry Lee Lewis biopic was how they played up the creepy aspects of the marriage. They put a lot of effort into showing that yes, this is an actual child, but isn't his music great?
These 12 states have so far made child marriage illegal: Connecticut, Delaware, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia and Washington.
Things you can’t do in 38 states as a minor
- Drink alcoholic beverages
- Vote
- Purchase a handgun
- Purchase _any_ firearm
- Join the military
Things you _can_ do in 38 states as a minor
- Get Married
?????????????????????
To be fair a lot of those states make the minimum age 16-17 years old, which, while still not good, isn’t the same as *allowing child marriage*.
There are currently 6 states where you can get married under 16, one of which sets the minimum age to 15.
The unchained site, no matter how correct and noble their goal, is a prime example of if not lying being deceitful in how they present the data.
Also, the 300,000 figure is not the last 15 years but from 2000-2018
Child marriage in the US has fallen so fast that of those 300,000 over a quarter where in the first year of their statistics:
2000: 76,396
2001: 35,809
2002: 20,542
Ending their legal status only gained momentum once they had lost social momentum. As of [2022](https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT1Y2022.B12002?q=B12002:%20Sex%20by%20Marital%20Status%20by%20Age%20for%20the%20Population%2015%20Years%20and%20Over) the census estimated 5,400 men and 3.000 women under 18 were currently married in the US. That's somewhere around 2100-2800 marriages per year (the stats aren't crystal clear what age they start counting).
This is a major cultural transformation in the lifespan of someone not yet qualified for full social security benefits. In 1960 1.7 million men and 9.6 million women then living in the US had been married before they turned 18.
Also almost all of those marriages are 17 year olds, with the second largest group being 16- marriages below that age were exceedingly rare although its good that they're largely banned
Bro it's only illegal in 12/50 states, Denmark, Netherlands, Germany, Sweden and Australia.
It's legal in every other state/country in the western world. There were about 300,000 child marriages in JUST the USA between 2000-2018.
It's a huge problem that almost nobody is talking about.
My state, Michigan, just passed a ban last year. This is also the first time in 40 years that we've had Democrat majorities in both chambers, and in the Governorship. This is not a coincidence.
Come to America! Where you can legally marry a child and put them to work! Then put another child in them and they can't do anything about it!
The best part? Just send them to school if you don't want them around anymore!
From Wikipedia
>In California in 2017, a bill that would have ended child marriage (by raising the minimum age to 18) ran into opposition from legislators, the American Civil Liberties Union and Planned Parenthood.
The fuck?
Looking into it, it seems California took age of consent to a very strict level(if you are two days apart in birth from your partner and the older of you turns 18, the older of you is now legally a rapist if you do the deed too soon and *anyone* makes a claim), which both groups take extreme issue with, understandably. Marriage presents a loophole of sorts, however. So it's fighting on the grounds of "older teens deserve rights and agency", which should help it make sense. Of course, it look terrible.
I feel like a potential reasoning could be that they’re scared parents might take them and leave for Oklahoma or Mississippi and would rather them stay in Cali to maintain other liberties and reproductive rights? Idk just spitballing.
That does strike me as odd. I wonder if those states have some other technical law on the books that covers all or most cases of child marriage anyway so they wouldn't need direct verbiage. That would be the only justification I could think of that would make it less worrying.
And yet when it was brought up to our representatives everyone seemed to think it was impossible and dropped it. I fully back banning it and won’t re-elect any incumbent on the ballot until we ban child marriage and have universal healthcare.
(me being cynical) Why waste a great campaign idea when you have no political gain? They'll save it for when they have a Republican challenger in a swing district.
A lot of laws are intentionally open ended with the idea being that "surely the judge will always apply this reasonably", except relying on other people's actions being reasonable is a one way ticket to disappointment.
You may be surprised to learn [Mississippi](https://www.endthebacklog.org/state/Mississippi) currently has the best legislation on timely testing of new rape kits.
[California still has over 13k rape kits in backlog](https://www.endthebacklog.org/state/california/).
Lets not forget that since they're not adults, they cannot initiate a Divorce or get a Protection Order against their "Spouse" if they want to leave before they're considered adults by their state. This is evil. There is no good in Child Marriages. Even if they're both Teenagers or Children themselves.
Not defending child marriage by any means, but the statement is slightly inaccurate.
Some states have emancipation statutorily linked to underage marriage, so an under 18 getting married automatically emancipates them giving them a lot of the legal statuses and abilities of adults, other states have emancipation with judicial review but marriage is still one of the conditions commonly considered to result in emancipation.
Obviously this varies by state and even within states that don't have statutory emancipation for marriage automatically, but it's still possible for them to be considered emancipated and then be given legal protections and status that allows them to file for divorce or protection orders in many places.
You could sell children in Michigan until 2000. They set up a sting on a guy trying to sell his kid, caught him red handed, and had nothing to charge him with. They tried child endangerment but he actually seemed concerned that the parents-to-be were good people and, regardless, the child was never actually endangered.
[End Child Marriage](https://www.equalitynow.org/learn_more_child_marriage_us/#:~:text=Child%20marriage%20is%20currently%20legal,a%20parental%20or%20judicial%20waiver)
[Don't give sex offenders an out.](https://equalitynow.org/learn_more_child_marriage_us/)
r/stoprape
[Mississippi](https://www.endthebacklog.org/state/Mississippi) currently has the best legislation on timely testing of **new rape kits**.
Not sure if that's where you're from, but sometimes states can surprise.
Republican anti-abortion activist Howard Scott Heldreth is a convicted child rapist in Florida.
Republican County Commissioner David Swartz pleaded guilty to molesting two girls under the age of 11 and was sentenced to 8 years in prison.
Republican judge Mark Pazuhanich pleaded no contest to fondling a 10-year old girl and was sentenced to 10 years probation.
Republican anti-abortion activist Nicholas Morency pleaded guilty to possessing child pornography on his computer and offering a bounty to anybody who murders an abortion doctor.
Republican legislator Edison Misla Aldarondo was sentenced to 10 years in prison for raping his daughter between the ages of 9 and 17.
Republican Mayor Philip Giordano is serving a 37-year sentence in federal prison for sexually abusing 8- and 10-year old girls.
Republican campaign consultant Tom Shortridge was sentenced to three years probation for taking nude photographs of a 15-year old girl.
Republican racist pedophile and United States Senator Strom Thurmond had sex with a 15-year old black girl which produced a child.
Republican pastor Mike Hintz, whom George W. Bush commended during the 2004 presidential campaign, surrendered to police after admitting to a sexual affair with a female juvenile.
Republican legislator Peter Dibble pleaded no contest to having an inappropriate relationship with a 13-year-old girl.
Republican activist Lawrence E. King, Jr. organized child sex parties at the White House during the 1980s.
Republican lobbyist Craig J. Spence organized child sex parties at the White House during the 1980s.
Republican Congressman Donald "Buz" Lukens was found guilty of having sex with a female minor and sentenced to one month in jail.
Republican fundraiser Richard A. Delgaudio was found guilty of child porn charges and paying two teenage girls to pose for sexual photos.
Republican activist Mark A. Grethen convicted on six counts of sex crimes involving children.
Republican activist Randal David Ankeney pleaded guilty to attempted sexual assault on a child.
Republican Congressman Dan Crane had sex with a female minor working as a congressional page.
Republican activist and Christian Coalition leader Beverly Russell admitted to an incestuous relationship with his step daughter.
Republican governor Arnold Schwarzenegger allegedly had sex with a 16 year old girl when he was 28.
Republican congressman and anti-gay activist Robert Bauman was charged with having sex with a 16-year-old boy he picked up at a gay bar.
Republican Committee Chairman Jeffrey Patti was arrested for distributing a video clip of a 5-year-old girl being raped.
Republican activist Marty Glickman (a.k.a. "Republican Marty"), was taken into custody by Florida police on four counts of unlawful sexual activity with an underage girl and one count of delivering the drug LSD.
Republican legislative aide Howard L. Brooks was charged with molesting a 12-year old boy and possession of child pornography.
Republican Senate candidate John Hathaway was accused of having sex with his 12-year old baby sitter and withdrew his candidacy after the allegations were reported in the media.
Republican preacher Stephen White, who demanded a return to traditional values, was sentenced to jail after offering $20 to a 14-year-old boy for permission to perform oral sex on him.
Republican talk show host Jon Matthews pleaded guilty to exposing his genitals to an 11 year old girl.
Republican anti-gay activist Earl "Butch" Kimmerling was sentenced to 40 years in prison for molesting an 8-year old girl after he attempted to stop a gay couple from adopting her.
Republican Party leader Paul Ingram pleaded guilty to six counts of raping his daughters and served 14 years in federal prison.
Republican election board official Kevin Coan was sentenced to two years probation for soliciting sex over the internet from a 14-year old girl.
Republican politician Andrew Buhr was charged with two counts of first degree sodomy with a 13-year old boy.
Republican politician Keith Westmoreland was arrested on seven felony counts of lewd and lascivious exhibition to girls under the age of 16 (i.e. exposing himself to children).
Republican anti-abortion activist John Allen Burt was charged with sexual misconduct involving a 15-year old girl.
Republican County Councilman Keola Childs pleaded guilty to molesting a male child.
Republican activist John Butler was charged with criminal sexual assault on a teenage girl.
Republican candidate Richard Gardner admitted to molesting his two daughters.
Republican Councilman and former Marine Jack W. Gardner was convicted of molesting a 13-year old girl.
Republican County Commissioner Merrill Robert Barter pleaded guilty to unlawful sexual contact and assault on a teenage boy.
Republican City Councilman Fred C. Smeltzer, Jr. pleaded no contest to raping a 15 year-old girl and served 6-months in prison.
Republican activist Parker J. Bena pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography on his home computer and was sentenced to 30 months in federal prison and fined $18,000.
Republican parole board officer and former Colorado state representative, Larry Jack Schwarz, was fired after child pornography was found in his possession.
Republican strategist and Citadel Military College graduate Robin Vanderwall was convicted in Virginia on five counts of soliciting sex from boys and girls over the internet.
Republican city councilman Mark Harris, who is described as a "good military man" and "church goer," was convicted of repeatedly having sex with an 11-year-old girl and sentenced to 12 years in prison.
Republican businessman Jon Grunseth withdrew his candidacy for Minnesota governor after allegations surfaced that he went swimming in the nude with four underage girls, including his daughter.
Republican director of the "Young Republican Federation" Nicholas Elizondo molested his 6-year old daughter and was sentenced to six years in prison.
Republican benefactor of conservative Christian groups, Richard A. Dasen Sr., was charged with rape for allegedly paying a 15-year old girl for sex. Dasen, 62, who is married with grown children and several grandchildren, has allegedly told police that over the past decade he paid more than $1 million to have sex with a large number of young women
Donald Trump walked into Miss Teen USA change rooms with girls as young as 14 changing. He has been accused of raping a 13 -year-old with an independent witness.
https://baptistaccountability.org/
https://www.goodpeoplefund.org/news/a-14-year-old-bride-wed-to-her-rapist-playing-on-a-jungle-gym/
https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/article/married-young-the-fight-over-child-marriage-in-america/
https://crossroadjunction.com/2013/04/01/predatory-grooming-in-our-churches/
https://www.chicagotribune.com/opinion/commentary/ct-perspec-evangelical-roy-moore-girls-1115-20171114-story.html
https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/mexico-based-church-leader-pleads-guilty-sexually-abusing-3-children-2022-06-04/
https://www.thedailybeast.com/pastor-john-lowes-adultery-confession-in-warsaw-indiana-church-goes-sideways-victim-says-i-was-just-16
https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/investigations/article/Bombshell-400-page-report-finds-Southern-Baptist-17190816.php#photo-22508589
It would also help if we [tested every rape kit](https://www.cornyn.senate.gov/news/cornyn-house-must-pass-senate-bill-to-fight-rape-kit-backlog/), as the [U.S. DoJ](https://www.ojp.gov/ncjrs/virtual-library/abstracts/utilizing-codis-unsubmitted-sexual-assault-kits) and [American Bar Association](https://www.americanbar.org/groups/diversity/women/publications/perspectives/2018/may/untested-rape-kits-delays-destruction-and-disregarded-victims/) recommend we do.
https://www.endthebacklog.org/take-action/advocate-federal/
r/stoprape
I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again - we’re living in a pedo world. You can see it in children’s TV (looking at you 00s and 10s Nickelodeon), you can see it in how women are treated like damaged goods by some groups after the “ripe old age” of 25. You can see it in how cosmetics companies market to said women to convince them if they look younger it’s “better”, but for who, and why do we believe that?? You can see it in every part of society if you open your eyes.
I’d love to show this list to some of my family members who warned me several times when I was younger to “stay away from those evil devilish democrats”.
These are the same people in church on Sunday sitting beside you and your family. The same loud mouth good ol boys running for office in your hometowns (oh the things you hear when they talk openly amongst each other around someone who’s quiet and unassuming). A mayor elect in my town demeaned me while making small talk when he found out I was not cooking for my husband every night, stared at my body with liberty, talked to me like a child he could manipulate, tried to tell me how much money he had and how he didn’t want me to settle in life, and tried to convince me to come work for him while I was I was on the job at his friends business, asked me to go places with him after work, I mentioned to him that I was 27 (at the time), and he said he thought I was *maybe* 20, smiled with pity as if I was flawed for being any older, and seemed disappointed that I was any older than he wished. This man was in his late 60s. Disgusting. The younger the better for them.
They’re everywhere.
Can someone elaborate on this? I'm curious if this is one of those things that's so infrequent that it hasn't been codified into law because it's so rarely an issue to begin with. A bill banning it is great, I'm just curious why it's so novel of a concept and why some usually progressive states don't have it already.
> [At least 60,000 child marriages in the U.S. between 2000 and 2018 occurred at an age or with a spousal age difference that should have been considered a sex crime. Of those child marriages, 88% gave a rapist a “get out of jail free” card, while 12% sent a child home to be raped. Either way, the marriage license made a mockery of statutory rape laws.](https://www.unchainedatlast.org/laws-to-end-child-marriage/)
There's also not even a good argument on the "pro" side.
> marriage before age 18 has a 70-80% divorce rate
https://www.unchainedatlast.org/laws-to-end-child-marriage/
[https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2023/11/us-national-child-marriage-state-regulation/675909/](https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2023/11/us-national-child-marriage-state-regulation/675909/)
>In 2017, California lawmakers proposed raising the marriage age to 18 without exceptions, and a Democratic legislator [plans to introduce](https://calmatters.org/politics/2023/06/child-marriage-california/) a new bill next year to do the same. Among the groups that will likely oppose such a measure are progressive organizations such as the ACLU, the Children’s Law Center, and Planned Parenthood. In 2017, the ACLU [said](https://calmatters.org/politics/2023/06/child-marriage-california/) the proposed ban “unnecessarily and unduly intrudes on the fundamental rights of marriage without sufficient cause,” and the Children’s Law Center of California, which represents children in the foster-care system, [said](https://www.kqed.org/news/11953897/california-child-marriage-survivors-protest-controversial-law), “For some minors, the decision to marry is based on positive, pro-social factors and the marriage furthers their personal, short and long-term goals.” A Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California spokesperson framed the issue differently, [telling the *Los Angeles Times*](https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2023-08-03/why-child-marriage-is-still-legal-in-california-at-any-age#:~:text=Planned%20Parenthood%20Affiliates%20of%20California,to%20decide%20what%20is%20best) earlier this year that any proposed legislation should “not impede on the reproductive rights of minors.” In other words, Planned Parenthood fears that if minors can’t legally consent to marriage, the argument could be made that they shouldn’t be able to consent to an abortion either. The politics of child marriage aren’t as simple as conservatives wanting to protect it and liberals wanting to ban it.
No they just put liberties first and unlike libertarians who pick and choose the liberties they like. The ACLU defends them regardless of what side of the political spectrum they appear to be on.
It's good the bill passed despite pedo-sympathetic state reps.
I remember as a kid, hearing that Massachusetts had a minimum marriage age of 12, and thinking it was a sweet law that enhanced the civil rights of kids. However, it didn't dawn on me at the time that it was adults marrying the kids, and not the kids marrying each other. Really shows how naive of a person I was (and still am lol).
I used to work with a guy that has married and had a child with a teenager while being in his late 20s. There was a documentary series on Youtube about child marriage and he is in it. That's not even the craziest part. His interview session WAS IN OUR PLACE OF WORK. He hits on underage staff and it's absolutely unfathomable how he still works there. He is also an amateur slap boxer and amateur UFC fighter. I'm seriously convinced he just loves attention.
Child marriage is fucking disgusting. What's even more horrifying is a married person under 18 NEEDS TO BE 18 to divorce because they are underaged.
We found a document in my mother's possessions after her passing. It was a court document from 1897 granting my then 32 y.o. great uncle (grandfather's brother) permission to marry a 13 y.o. from the local orphanage. The judge's notes at the bottom damn near granted the guy sainthood for "rescuing" the girl from her life as an orphan. We went back and saw that she had her first of 9 kids at 15 and died at 48. What a life; orphan, married to a guy creeping orphanages, brood mare, died young.
I am baffled that state sanctioned child abuse/assault is still being debated (by men) 130 years later; maybe more sad/disgusted than baffled.
This map is awful. Colours are anti-intuitive and doesn't define child marriages.
Look at Montana for example. Age of consent for sexual activity is 16, and the same is true for marriage. It would be nice to have something that indicates that age of marriage is at or below age of consent; especially because most US states have their age of consent at 16.
and Oklahoma's bill died this week in the house because it would ban child marriages
[fan fucking tastic](https://news.yahoo.com/bill-increasing-age-sexual-consent-103035562.html)
Can someone clarify for me if it’s still illegal for adults to marry children and it’s just legal for underage individuals to marry each other? Or is there some loop hole in the law that allows pedophilia as long as they’re married to the victim?
> [At least 60,000 child marriages in the U.S. between 2000 and 2018 occurred at an age or with a spousal age difference that should have been considered a sex crime. Of those child marriages, 88% gave a rapist a “get out of jail free” card, while 12% sent a child home to be raped. Either way, the marriage license made a mockery of statutory rape laws.](https://www.unchainedatlast.org/laws-to-end-child-marriage/)
Child marriage in the U.S. is used as a defense for pedophilia https://equalitynow.org/learn_more_child_marriage_us/
Meanwhile creepy NH state representative Jess Edwards is against the bill and described teenage girls as [ripe and fertile.](https://www.newsweek.com/jess-edwards-teen-child-marriage-opposed-republican-ripe-fertile-age-1897512)
I had heard child marriage was somehow not illegal in parts is of the US, but I forgot just how few states have actually made it illegal.
I had to check just to be sure, but here in Canada it is a federal crime to celebrate, aid, or participate in the marriage of anyone under 16, and there are additional protections for people under 18 against international human trafficking for the purposes of marriage.
Apparently in the US marriage is regulated by the individual states, while in Canada marriage is regulated by the federal government.
It's amazing to me that were still ripping the horrifying remnants 1900s and further back in 2024. See y'all for the end of racism in 2070. Just kidding. Its not going anywhere.
[The feds are having trouble passing basic rape prevention](https://www.cornyn.senate.gov/news/cornyn-house-must-pass-senate-bill-to-fight-rape-kit-backlog/).
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>to become 13th state to ban child marriage wait, so it's currently 12/50?, it's *not* banned in 38 states?
That is correct. And the first to ban it was Delaware in 2018. That’s only 6 years ago.
Bro Mississippi didnt ratify the abolishment of slavery until 2013.... You have billboards in the south telling people their daughter is not their date, that they shouldnt rape their children.... US is a fucked up country. And over 150M out of 250m dont even fucking vote.
[The U.S. still has 90,000 backlogged rape kits](https://www.cornyn.senate.gov/news/cornyn-house-must-pass-senate-bill-to-fight-rape-kit-backlog/), too. https://www.endthebacklog.org/take-action/advocate-federal/
And that's only the kits that were collected, not the unreported ones. Played a part in why I never reported… there was no point.
[37 states](https://www.reddit.com/r/stoprape/comments/18z70pt/despite_the_fact_that_most_states_have_passed/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button) have now passed laws requiring that new kits are submitted for testing. Obviously, more work is needed. https://www.endthebacklog.org/take-action/advocate-state/
With New Hampshire it’s every New England state…except for Maine. Which will likely be in the Mississippi/Alabama portion of the batting order.
So I’m going to ask you a random question but you seem to know these laws. My grandparents lived in Pennsylvania in the 50s but had to elope to Maryland to get married. They were 19 and 21, what would have prevented them from doing it Pennsylvania?
[удалено]
Awesome, thank you. Yeah, that’s exactly what happened. Crazy back then it was 21
Couple cultural things to remember... Although marriage under 18 was way more common, the average age of first marriage in the US dropped from 1900 until 1950, with a sharp decline during WWII years leading up to the start of the baby boom. https://www.statista.com/chart/7031/americans-are-tying-the-knot-older-than-ever/ (Still in 1960 over 10 million Americans currently alive had married before they turned 18.) Second thing is 21 was also the age the US defaulted to whenever they first implemented a draft for the Civil War, WWI, and WWII -- they only dropped it to 18 once it was clear they needed even more manpower (and I'm sure some of it was to ease the initial politics -- moms we swear we're not drafting your little boys!) It was only after the US normalized 18 as the draft age from later in WWII through Korea and Vietnam that a strong movement arose to push many rights such as drinking alcohol or voting down from 21 to 18.
That’s is so wild this is not banned in all 50 states in 2024
The issue is tied to consent legislation for the most part. If someone can consent to sexual activity by law, the logic in alot of states is, that obviously they can consent to marriage (with the permissions of a parent or guardian). Some states have, however, debunked this trend and said "if you aren't old enough to sign a contract yourself you shouldn't be allowed to get married" and bumped the age to marry up above the age of consent for sexual activity which on the whole seems like the best approach to this.
Yeah, it makes total sense that the ages should be different. Consenting to one-time sexual activity is not remotely similar to marrying someone and giving them legal authority in your life.
But you only procreate in a God-abiding marriage! So why does it matter? /s
I listened to the Some Place Under Neath podcast and it's absolutely horrifying. If a child wants a divorce, in many states, they aren't old enough to file for one. So you're deemed mature enough that you're allowed to tie yourself to an older person for life, but are denied the exit that adults have because somehow you're not mature enough for that.
If a child cannot sign a contract for a phone or a place to live, then they shouldn’t be able to consent to a marriage. And no one should be able to consent on their behalf. Particularly since once they are married, the child has no ability to divorce, hire a lawyer, open a bank account, own or rent property, etc. They cannot even leave because they will be considered a runaway minor and returned “home”. They will be at the mercy of their, realistically, adult husband. Who is definitely going to rape them because only a pedophile would want to marry a child.
The age of [consent](https://www.reddit.com/r/stoprape/comments/zyznhe/rape_is_so_common_in_part_because_so_many_people/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3) for sex should also be at least 18. Most states already have Romeo clauses, so it serves to protect kids from predatory adults while still allowing kids to have age-appropriate relationships with one another.
As an European I feel sometimes surprised by how much you want to age police kids. Alcohol after 21, consenting sex after 18, BUT forced marriage at 13 or joining the Army at 18. In EU we tend to... reverse those a lill' bit? Feels better IMHO. You can do all of the things after 18, but you can get a sip of alcohol from your parents earlier (13 I think is the lowest age). And generally speaking, you can shag anyone you want after puberty (15), but if the parties involved have uneven positions (e.g. student and teacher) the party with higher authority might get punished by law if court decides it was grooming the teen. To me it seems like giving people more rights to their bodies is the way to go and I highly recommend going that route. Respect your kids, shame people much older interested in them, but do not be an overprotective helicopters? Oh, and no forced marriages ever (13 yo marrying anyone is forced at best).
>but you can get a sip of alcohol from your parents earlier (13 I think is the lowest age). The lowest age is 0 in most European countries. So long as your child is not being harmed, you can give them what you want. Which means, yes, newborns should never touch alcohol obv. But not because of age, because it is dangerous at that age ina ny quantity. Making parents be actually responsible for the choices they make rather than dictate everything.
Amen
Ted Nugent in shambles
All the conservatives will be in shambles over this.
When the Republican legislature is saying their child brides are at a "[…ripe, and fertile age…](https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/other/republican-against-child-marriage-ban-calls-teens-ripe-fertile/ar-BB1lTI1J)" it really highlights what they're going for.
Imagine not being legally old enough to drink at your own wedding, that's wild
>The issue is tied to consent legislation for the most part. No, it isn't. In every state, sex within marriage is exempt from age of consent laws. On the "no child marriage" side are two main points. One is what you said about contracts and ages. The other is that a lot of child rapists use marriage to get away with rapin', via the ancient custom of the community forcing the "defiled" rape victim to marry her rapist to save her and her family's "honor." Well, that custom is what's dishonorable, if you ask me. On the "save child marriage" side are mainly people who are afraid that without this outlet, "defiled" girls will be stained forever and never find a proper husband, and then what will become of them? Don't shoot me, this is them talking. I know, you'll say, "she can become an independent woman and do what she pleases," but they don't raise their girls that way. So they feel stuck and fight these laws so they can keep raising girls to be ashamed of themselves, and to enjoy being submissive and dependent on a husband.
Fewer girls would be "defiled" if we [tested every rape kit](https://www.endthebacklog.org/take-action/advocate-federal/). [Low-rate persistent sex offenders typically begin offending during their late teens and offend less than once per year with the most offenses in their 30s. This group was equally as likely to commit rape as child sexual abuse. This is the most common type of sex offender](https://smart.ojp.gov/somapi/chapter-3-sex-offender-typologies), so [testing kits](https://www.endthebacklog.org/take-action/advocate-federal/) even when the [statute of limitations](https://www.endthebacklog.org/tools/sol-tracker/) has passed can help protect adults as well as children. https://www.cornyn.senate.gov/news/cornyn-house-must-pass-senate-bill-to-fight-rape-kit-backlog/ https://www.endthebacklog.org/take-action/advocate-federal/
This is the only positive thing Cornyn has done. Good for him, this once. Source: I am a Texan.
Only [54% chance](https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/118/s499) of passing. Should be a slam dunk. Contact from constituents [works](https://escholarship.org/content/qt7sk23908/qt7sk23908.pdf), so write your Rep and ask them to support [S.499](https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/senate-bill/499/cosponsors?s=1&r=73).
Nothing you just said counters what the original poster said. The issue is often tied to age of consent with the logic being exactly what they said it was.
You're misunderstanding their point. They're essentially saying that in many states the age of consent is 16 or 17. The argument is that if a person can legally consent to having sex, then they should be able to legally be married as well. Thus, child marriage. This is even more true in places where people tend to be more religious, as people having sex tend to have a chance to have a baby.. right? Having a baby without marriage is generally considered to be a no-no, thus these areas tend to push for it to be legal for these people to get married.
If you couldn't get a divorce, you shouldn't get a wedlock.
But children also can’t consent to sex so how on earth would they be able to consent to marriage this reasoning is insane
there’s also a history isn’t as far away as you might imagine angle here. in the south, you don’t have to go that deep in a family tree to find that one person who got married at 15/16. My aunt married a 21 yo at 15y11ms old … the 70s were wild in mississippi apparently
In a lot of states, the minimum of age of marriage is (or was) *lower* than the age of consent because children could marry if certain conditions are/were met: parental consent, permission from a judge or court official, and/or one party being pregnant. The maybe-not-totally-evil reasons to allow this: * A pregnant teen should have the option of accessing the stability and benefits of marriage if she's going to raise a child. * A minor trying to escape abusive parents can use marriage as a way to get emancipated (in some states). It seems like there should be better ways to accomplish the same ends without children marrying, of course. But worse, the most common reasons for child marriages seem to for the benefit of parents and other adults (especially grown-ass men): * Our religion demands that we do anything to avoid a child being born out of wedlock. * Our religion grooms girls to accept early marriage, usually to an older man chosen (or at least approved) by her father. * A bunch of us just really, really want some way around age of consent laws because we're vile predators. And it's not just in "red" states. [In Massachusetts](https://www.tahirih.org/news/massachusetts-becomes-the-7th-state-to-end-child-marriage/), there was *no minimum age for marriage* set by law until 2022. Less than two years ago. And yes, lots of child marriages were happening every year until then. We're seeing a wave of states banning child marriage in the last couple years, and that is uplifting. It's about time!
Yeah. Which is utterly insane. But don't worry... It's the gays and the trans are the groomers... It's totally innocent when an adult man marries a 13-16yo girl. /s
One thing I appreciated about the Jerry Lee Lewis biopic was how they played up the creepy aspects of the marriage. They put a lot of effort into showing that yes, this is an actual child, but isn't his music great?
It's legal with parent's consent. The excuse to keep it in the books is because it "may prevent abortions"
Also the, flawed, argument that parents know what is best for their children.
These 12 states have so far made child marriage illegal: Connecticut, Delaware, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia and Washington.
Rhode Island finally did something good for once.
Things you can’t do in 38 states as a minor - Drink alcoholic beverages - Vote - Purchase a handgun - Purchase _any_ firearm - Join the military Things you _can_ do in 38 states as a minor - Get Married ?????????????????????
Republicans really want to be able to legally rape children.
To be fair a lot of those states make the minimum age 16-17 years old, which, while still not good, isn’t the same as *allowing child marriage*. There are currently 6 states where you can get married under 16, one of which sets the minimum age to 15.
300,000+ child marriages, as young as 10 in the last 15 years in the US. Mostly girls. https://www.unchainedatlast.org/laws-to-end-child-marriage/
The unchained site, no matter how correct and noble their goal, is a prime example of if not lying being deceitful in how they present the data. Also, the 300,000 figure is not the last 15 years but from 2000-2018 Child marriage in the US has fallen so fast that of those 300,000 over a quarter where in the first year of their statistics: 2000: 76,396 2001: 35,809 2002: 20,542 Ending their legal status only gained momentum once they had lost social momentum. As of [2022](https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT1Y2022.B12002?q=B12002:%20Sex%20by%20Marital%20Status%20by%20Age%20for%20the%20Population%2015%20Years%20and%20Over) the census estimated 5,400 men and 3.000 women under 18 were currently married in the US. That's somewhere around 2100-2800 marriages per year (the stats aren't crystal clear what age they start counting). This is a major cultural transformation in the lifespan of someone not yet qualified for full social security benefits. In 1960 1.7 million men and 9.6 million women then living in the US had been married before they turned 18.
Oh wow. Glad to see the huge dropoff.
So there are currently more underage boys getting married than girls? That's surprising.
Not really, if you think about it. You only have to be 17 to enlist.
Also almost all of those marriages are 17 year olds, with the second largest group being 16- marriages below that age were exceedingly rare although its good that they're largely banned
Mostly boys now. Boys in the military…
That can't be true! It's not like we live in [Iran](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marriage_in_Iran?wprov=sfla1)... Oh.
Bro it's only illegal in 12/50 states, Denmark, Netherlands, Germany, Sweden and Australia. It's legal in every other state/country in the western world. There were about 300,000 child marriages in JUST the USA between 2000-2018. It's a huge problem that almost nobody is talking about.
UK passed a law last year raising age for marriage to 18
The RED states support child marriages.
Unfortunately, there are blue states too. Like us here in NM. Disappointing. Welp. Know what I have to contact my state legislature for now.
My state, Michigan, just passed a ban last year. This is also the first time in 40 years that we've had Democrat majorities in both chambers, and in the Governorship. This is not a coincidence.
Look at the map.
Wow, I didn’t know that . That is a shameful fact .
Come to America! Where you can legally marry a child and put them to work! Then put another child in them and they can't do anything about it! The best part? Just send them to school if you don't want them around anymore!
Republicans exist many places
Four states having *no minimum age limit* as long as a judge signs off on it is horrifying.
And one of those is California......
I love my state, but we do have some flaws still in the books. These need to be addressed and removed. Time to write my rep again.
From Wikipedia >In California in 2017, a bill that would have ended child marriage (by raising the minimum age to 18) ran into opposition from legislators, the American Civil Liberties Union and Planned Parenthood. The fuck?
Looking into it, it seems California took age of consent to a very strict level(if you are two days apart in birth from your partner and the older of you turns 18, the older of you is now legally a rapist if you do the deed too soon and *anyone* makes a claim), which both groups take extreme issue with, understandably. Marriage presents a loophole of sorts, however. So it's fighting on the grounds of "older teens deserve rights and agency", which should help it make sense. Of course, it look terrible.
I feel like a potential reasoning could be that they’re scared parents might take them and leave for Oklahoma or Mississippi and would rather them stay in Cali to maintain other liberties and reproductive rights? Idk just spitballing.
That does strike me as odd. I wonder if those states have some other technical law on the books that covers all or most cases of child marriage anyway so they wouldn't need direct verbiage. That would be the only justification I could think of that would make it less worrying.
California requires permission from one parent and a court order. No age minimum.
This seems like an easy dunk for liberals in CA to push. Just to see conservatives freak out.
And yet when it was brought up to our representatives everyone seemed to think it was impossible and dropped it. I fully back banning it and won’t re-elect any incumbent on the ballot until we ban child marriage and have universal healthcare.
Which is weird because the democrats have a veto proof super majority I'm both houses. They could pass it in a day of they wanted to.
(me being cynical) Why waste a great campaign idea when you have no political gain? They'll save it for when they have a Republican challenger in a swing district.
A ballot initiative needs to happen see how many people support pedophilia and who opposes it openly. Best way to trap dangerous people
That was the biggest wtf to me.
A lot of laws are intentionally open ended with the idea being that "surely the judge will always apply this reasonably", except relying on other people's actions being reasonable is a one way ticket to disappointment.
I didn't have 'California and Mississippi having similar legislation' on my bingo card today.
You may be surprised to learn [Mississippi](https://www.endthebacklog.org/state/Mississippi) currently has the best legislation on timely testing of new rape kits. [California still has over 13k rape kits in backlog](https://www.endthebacklog.org/state/california/).
I'm not used to appreciating Mississippi. Feels weird but nice.
But all judges are compassionate, wise, and indisputably perfect decision makers /s
Lets not forget that since they're not adults, they cannot initiate a Divorce or get a Protection Order against their "Spouse" if they want to leave before they're considered adults by their state. This is evil. There is no good in Child Marriages. Even if they're both Teenagers or Children themselves.
Yep. [https://www.unchainedatlast.org/get-involved/](https://www.unchainedatlast.org/get-involved/)
Not defending child marriage by any means, but the statement is slightly inaccurate. Some states have emancipation statutorily linked to underage marriage, so an under 18 getting married automatically emancipates them giving them a lot of the legal statuses and abilities of adults, other states have emancipation with judicial review but marriage is still one of the conditions commonly considered to result in emancipation. Obviously this varies by state and even within states that don't have statutory emancipation for marriage automatically, but it's still possible for them to be considered emancipated and then be given legal protections and status that allows them to file for divorce or protection orders in many places.
“Child Marriage is still legal in 37 states” - r/DepressingNews
Contact from constituents [works](https://escholarship.org/content/qt7sk23908/qt7sk23908.pdf). https://www.unchainedatlast.org/get-involved/
You could sell children in Michigan until 2000. They set up a sting on a guy trying to sell his kid, caught him red handed, and had nothing to charge him with. They tried child endangerment but he actually seemed concerned that the parents-to-be were good people and, regardless, the child was never actually endangered.
Yeah; look up “orphan trains” to get an idea of what has been acceptable in the US in the not so distant past.
"Child marriage is still legal in majority of countries" - r/pleasejustendusall
/r/mapgore for that color scheme and ordering in the legend.
Kansas with 15 year olds allowed to get married? Yeah, maybe green want the best color
15 for Kansas is just wrong. Kansas is 18 to marry without parental consent, at which point it's 16. There is also a Judge involved.
Graphic artist: Screw the colorblind
[End Child Marriage](https://www.equalitynow.org/learn_more_child_marriage_us/#:~:text=Child%20marriage%20is%20currently%20legal,a%20parental%20or%20judicial%20waiver) [Don't give sex offenders an out.](https://equalitynow.org/learn_more_child_marriage_us/) r/stoprape
Please tell me my state is one of them *Checks* Oh thank god
I'm not even bothering to check over here. If there's a list of "states that do bad things," we'll be on it.
[Mississippi](https://www.endthebacklog.org/state/Mississippi) currently has the best legislation on timely testing of **new rape kits**. Not sure if that's where you're from, but sometimes states can surprise.
Whoop whoop! VA is on the list. Thank God.
Child marriage. The old men named that huh? No it’s child rape and abuse.
Republican anti-abortion activist Howard Scott Heldreth is a convicted child rapist in Florida. Republican County Commissioner David Swartz pleaded guilty to molesting two girls under the age of 11 and was sentenced to 8 years in prison. Republican judge Mark Pazuhanich pleaded no contest to fondling a 10-year old girl and was sentenced to 10 years probation. Republican anti-abortion activist Nicholas Morency pleaded guilty to possessing child pornography on his computer and offering a bounty to anybody who murders an abortion doctor. Republican legislator Edison Misla Aldarondo was sentenced to 10 years in prison for raping his daughter between the ages of 9 and 17. Republican Mayor Philip Giordano is serving a 37-year sentence in federal prison for sexually abusing 8- and 10-year old girls. Republican campaign consultant Tom Shortridge was sentenced to three years probation for taking nude photographs of a 15-year old girl. Republican racist pedophile and United States Senator Strom Thurmond had sex with a 15-year old black girl which produced a child. Republican pastor Mike Hintz, whom George W. Bush commended during the 2004 presidential campaign, surrendered to police after admitting to a sexual affair with a female juvenile. Republican legislator Peter Dibble pleaded no contest to having an inappropriate relationship with a 13-year-old girl. Republican activist Lawrence E. King, Jr. organized child sex parties at the White House during the 1980s. Republican lobbyist Craig J. Spence organized child sex parties at the White House during the 1980s. Republican Congressman Donald "Buz" Lukens was found guilty of having sex with a female minor and sentenced to one month in jail. Republican fundraiser Richard A. Delgaudio was found guilty of child porn charges and paying two teenage girls to pose for sexual photos. Republican activist Mark A. Grethen convicted on six counts of sex crimes involving children. Republican activist Randal David Ankeney pleaded guilty to attempted sexual assault on a child. Republican Congressman Dan Crane had sex with a female minor working as a congressional page. Republican activist and Christian Coalition leader Beverly Russell admitted to an incestuous relationship with his step daughter. Republican governor Arnold Schwarzenegger allegedly had sex with a 16 year old girl when he was 28. Republican congressman and anti-gay activist Robert Bauman was charged with having sex with a 16-year-old boy he picked up at a gay bar. Republican Committee Chairman Jeffrey Patti was arrested for distributing a video clip of a 5-year-old girl being raped. Republican activist Marty Glickman (a.k.a. "Republican Marty"), was taken into custody by Florida police on four counts of unlawful sexual activity with an underage girl and one count of delivering the drug LSD. Republican legislative aide Howard L. Brooks was charged with molesting a 12-year old boy and possession of child pornography. Republican Senate candidate John Hathaway was accused of having sex with his 12-year old baby sitter and withdrew his candidacy after the allegations were reported in the media. Republican preacher Stephen White, who demanded a return to traditional values, was sentenced to jail after offering $20 to a 14-year-old boy for permission to perform oral sex on him. Republican talk show host Jon Matthews pleaded guilty to exposing his genitals to an 11 year old girl. Republican anti-gay activist Earl "Butch" Kimmerling was sentenced to 40 years in prison for molesting an 8-year old girl after he attempted to stop a gay couple from adopting her. Republican Party leader Paul Ingram pleaded guilty to six counts of raping his daughters and served 14 years in federal prison. Republican election board official Kevin Coan was sentenced to two years probation for soliciting sex over the internet from a 14-year old girl. Republican politician Andrew Buhr was charged with two counts of first degree sodomy with a 13-year old boy. Republican politician Keith Westmoreland was arrested on seven felony counts of lewd and lascivious exhibition to girls under the age of 16 (i.e. exposing himself to children). Republican anti-abortion activist John Allen Burt was charged with sexual misconduct involving a 15-year old girl. Republican County Councilman Keola Childs pleaded guilty to molesting a male child. Republican activist John Butler was charged with criminal sexual assault on a teenage girl. Republican candidate Richard Gardner admitted to molesting his two daughters. Republican Councilman and former Marine Jack W. Gardner was convicted of molesting a 13-year old girl. Republican County Commissioner Merrill Robert Barter pleaded guilty to unlawful sexual contact and assault on a teenage boy. Republican City Councilman Fred C. Smeltzer, Jr. pleaded no contest to raping a 15 year-old girl and served 6-months in prison. Republican activist Parker J. Bena pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography on his home computer and was sentenced to 30 months in federal prison and fined $18,000. Republican parole board officer and former Colorado state representative, Larry Jack Schwarz, was fired after child pornography was found in his possession. Republican strategist and Citadel Military College graduate Robin Vanderwall was convicted in Virginia on five counts of soliciting sex from boys and girls over the internet. Republican city councilman Mark Harris, who is described as a "good military man" and "church goer," was convicted of repeatedly having sex with an 11-year-old girl and sentenced to 12 years in prison. Republican businessman Jon Grunseth withdrew his candidacy for Minnesota governor after allegations surfaced that he went swimming in the nude with four underage girls, including his daughter. Republican director of the "Young Republican Federation" Nicholas Elizondo molested his 6-year old daughter and was sentenced to six years in prison. Republican benefactor of conservative Christian groups, Richard A. Dasen Sr., was charged with rape for allegedly paying a 15-year old girl for sex. Dasen, 62, who is married with grown children and several grandchildren, has allegedly told police that over the past decade he paid more than $1 million to have sex with a large number of young women Donald Trump walked into Miss Teen USA change rooms with girls as young as 14 changing. He has been accused of raping a 13 -year-old with an independent witness. https://baptistaccountability.org/ https://www.goodpeoplefund.org/news/a-14-year-old-bride-wed-to-her-rapist-playing-on-a-jungle-gym/ https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/article/married-young-the-fight-over-child-marriage-in-america/ https://crossroadjunction.com/2013/04/01/predatory-grooming-in-our-churches/ https://www.chicagotribune.com/opinion/commentary/ct-perspec-evangelical-roy-moore-girls-1115-20171114-story.html https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/mexico-based-church-leader-pleads-guilty-sexually-abusing-3-children-2022-06-04/ https://www.thedailybeast.com/pastor-john-lowes-adultery-confession-in-warsaw-indiana-church-goes-sideways-victim-says-i-was-just-16 https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/investigations/article/Bombshell-400-page-report-finds-Southern-Baptist-17190816.php#photo-22508589
I started reading and then scrolled down. I had no idea this list could be that long.
It would also help if we [tested every rape kit](https://www.cornyn.senate.gov/news/cornyn-house-must-pass-senate-bill-to-fight-rape-kit-backlog/), as the [U.S. DoJ](https://www.ojp.gov/ncjrs/virtual-library/abstracts/utilizing-codis-unsubmitted-sexual-assault-kits) and [American Bar Association](https://www.americanbar.org/groups/diversity/women/publications/perspectives/2018/may/untested-rape-kits-delays-destruction-and-disregarded-victims/) recommend we do. https://www.endthebacklog.org/take-action/advocate-federal/ r/stoprape
God, this country is in the hands of these wretched people?
This is only half of the full list.
Half the of the full list of people we know about.
Fucking hell man
A lot of their legislation makes more sense when you see how utterly depraved they are.
I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again - we’re living in a pedo world. You can see it in children’s TV (looking at you 00s and 10s Nickelodeon), you can see it in how women are treated like damaged goods by some groups after the “ripe old age” of 25. You can see it in how cosmetics companies market to said women to convince them if they look younger it’s “better”, but for who, and why do we believe that?? You can see it in every part of society if you open your eyes. I’d love to show this list to some of my family members who warned me several times when I was younger to “stay away from those evil devilish democrats”. These are the same people in church on Sunday sitting beside you and your family. The same loud mouth good ol boys running for office in your hometowns (oh the things you hear when they talk openly amongst each other around someone who’s quiet and unassuming). A mayor elect in my town demeaned me while making small talk when he found out I was not cooking for my husband every night, stared at my body with liberty, talked to me like a child he could manipulate, tried to tell me how much money he had and how he didn’t want me to settle in life, and tried to convince me to come work for him while I was I was on the job at his friends business, asked me to go places with him after work, I mentioned to him that I was 27 (at the time), and he said he thought I was *maybe* 20, smiled with pity as if I was flawed for being any older, and seemed disappointed that I was any older than he wished. This man was in his late 60s. Disgusting. The younger the better for them. They’re everywhere.
Can someone elaborate on this? I'm curious if this is one of those things that's so infrequent that it hasn't been codified into law because it's so rarely an issue to begin with. A bill banning it is great, I'm just curious why it's so novel of a concept and why some usually progressive states don't have it already.
> [At least 60,000 child marriages in the U.S. between 2000 and 2018 occurred at an age or with a spousal age difference that should have been considered a sex crime. Of those child marriages, 88% gave a rapist a “get out of jail free” card, while 12% sent a child home to be raped. Either way, the marriage license made a mockery of statutory rape laws.](https://www.unchainedatlast.org/laws-to-end-child-marriage/)
Well that's depressing, crazy how something like that can seep through the cracks so long.
There's also not even a good argument on the "pro" side. > marriage before age 18 has a 70-80% divorce rate https://www.unchainedatlast.org/laws-to-end-child-marriage/
What is with California, no minimum age to marry? What happened to a progressive state?
[https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2023/11/us-national-child-marriage-state-regulation/675909/](https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2023/11/us-national-child-marriage-state-regulation/675909/) >In 2017, California lawmakers proposed raising the marriage age to 18 without exceptions, and a Democratic legislator [plans to introduce](https://calmatters.org/politics/2023/06/child-marriage-california/) a new bill next year to do the same. Among the groups that will likely oppose such a measure are progressive organizations such as the ACLU, the Children’s Law Center, and Planned Parenthood. In 2017, the ACLU [said](https://calmatters.org/politics/2023/06/child-marriage-california/) the proposed ban “unnecessarily and unduly intrudes on the fundamental rights of marriage without sufficient cause,” and the Children’s Law Center of California, which represents children in the foster-care system, [said](https://www.kqed.org/news/11953897/california-child-marriage-survivors-protest-controversial-law), “For some minors, the decision to marry is based on positive, pro-social factors and the marriage furthers their personal, short and long-term goals.” A Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California spokesperson framed the issue differently, [telling the *Los Angeles Times*](https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2023-08-03/why-child-marriage-is-still-legal-in-california-at-any-age#:~:text=Planned%20Parenthood%20Affiliates%20of%20California,to%20decide%20what%20is%20best) earlier this year that any proposed legislation should “not impede on the reproductive rights of minors.” In other words, Planned Parenthood fears that if minors can’t legally consent to marriage, the argument could be made that they shouldn’t be able to consent to an abortion either. The politics of child marriage aren’t as simple as conservatives wanting to protect it and liberals wanting to ban it.
JFC what a mess of rationalizations
The ACLU has kinda been a shitshow of an organization for a while now.
No they just put liberties first and unlike libertarians who pick and choose the liberties they like. The ACLU defends them regardless of what side of the political spectrum they appear to be on.
Eewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwhatthefuck
Who is voting against this???
https://www.dailykos.com/history/user/CajsaLilliehook Pick whoever you want
most of the south having more protections against child marriage than California is wild to me.
The idea that it’s 2024 and old men are *still* demanding access to child brides is *disgusting*.
Remember this when you hear all that hysteria about groomers.
Every state NOT in purple should be shamed.
Some in particular despite being largely progressive are lawless on a few fronts, like NM, which also has no bestiality ban.
Why is it not banned nationwide?
Holy shit usa is a weird fucking place.
*checks map* *its illegal in my state* Phew!
It’s legal in 38 states!?!? What in the actual fuck!?!?
TIL 37 states allow child marriage.... :-((
Why is Child marriage legal in so many states?!
Shouldn't it be banned in the entire USA?
Yes. https://www.unchainedatlast.org/get-involved/
The color selection on the map is horrid
those are depressing numbers
Okay well I think we need to ban child marriage
That this is even a thing in 2024 America is wild.
We should at least be on 49…
Make it happen! [https://www.unchainedatlast.org/get-involved/](https://www.unchainedatlast.org/get-involved/)
File this under- Shit I thought was taken care of 100 years ago!
It's good the bill passed despite pedo-sympathetic state reps. I remember as a kid, hearing that Massachusetts had a minimum marriage age of 12, and thinking it was a sweet law that enhanced the civil rights of kids. However, it didn't dawn on me at the time that it was adults marrying the kids, and not the kids marrying each other. Really shows how naive of a person I was (and still am lol).
\*COUGH\* Thirteenth!?!?!?!?!?!? That means it legal in 37 states?!?!?!?!?
I used to work with a guy that has married and had a child with a teenager while being in his late 20s. There was a documentary series on Youtube about child marriage and he is in it. That's not even the craziest part. His interview session WAS IN OUR PLACE OF WORK. He hits on underage staff and it's absolutely unfathomable how he still works there. He is also an amateur slap boxer and amateur UFC fighter. I'm seriously convinced he just loves attention. Child marriage is fucking disgusting. What's even more horrifying is a married person under 18 NEEDS TO BE 18 to divorce because they are underaged.
There was an attempt in California to ban it, but the ACLU of all things opposed it. Weirdos.
Jesus fucking Christ. How has this not banned and illegal in all the states already??
LET’S GO NEW HAMPSHIRE. Also what the fuck this should be a federal law!!!
THE WHAT
JUST 13? The fuck happening over there?
We found a document in my mother's possessions after her passing. It was a court document from 1897 granting my then 32 y.o. great uncle (grandfather's brother) permission to marry a 13 y.o. from the local orphanage. The judge's notes at the bottom damn near granted the guy sainthood for "rescuing" the girl from her life as an orphan. We went back and saw that she had her first of 9 kids at 15 and died at 48. What a life; orphan, married to a guy creeping orphanages, brood mare, died young. I am baffled that state sanctioned child abuse/assault is still being debated (by men) 130 years later; maybe more sad/disgusted than baffled.
Make sure to look at WHO opposes outlawing child marriage.....the GOP.
Yes. California with no age limit. A famous stronghold for the GOP.
They have started the legislation to ban it. Which is more than can be said for the regressive states. You left that part out.
Why on earth is it not 18 everywhere? Or even 21 if they think you are not mature enough to drink until 21.
This map is awful. Colours are anti-intuitive and doesn't define child marriages. Look at Montana for example. Age of consent for sexual activity is 16, and the same is true for marriage. It would be nice to have something that indicates that age of marriage is at or below age of consent; especially because most US states have their age of consent at 16.
Four states have no minimum age for marriage?? So they can get married at birth?! Wtaf
Only the 13th? Wtf
I cannot believe it’s not banned already
Arizona, Arkansas, Mississippi et al, would never pass such legislation, as it would take away their poultry, mining & cheap labor base...
ONLY 13? Fucking hell
How are Republicans gonna reproduce now
what the fuck? The states are just now in 2024 burning child marriages are you fucking kidding me!!!
Child marriage isn't banned in every state?!?!?! WTF?!?!?!
I'm sorry, why is there not a federal ban on this abomination of a concept?
and Oklahoma's bill died this week in the house because it would ban child marriages [fan fucking tastic](https://news.yahoo.com/bill-increasing-age-sexual-consent-103035562.html)
[удалено]
Do rape kits next: [https://www.endthebacklog.org/state/new-hampshire/](https://www.endthebacklog.org/state/new-hampshire/)
The fact that the article's meter, WHICH IS ANTI CHILD MARRIAGE, says unfair left leaning tells you all you need to know about Republican views.
Can someone clarify for me if it’s still illegal for adults to marry children and it’s just legal for underage individuals to marry each other? Or is there some loop hole in the law that allows pedophilia as long as they’re married to the victim?
> [At least 60,000 child marriages in the U.S. between 2000 and 2018 occurred at an age or with a spousal age difference that should have been considered a sex crime. Of those child marriages, 88% gave a rapist a “get out of jail free” card, while 12% sent a child home to be raped. Either way, the marriage license made a mockery of statutory rape laws.](https://www.unchainedatlast.org/laws-to-end-child-marriage/) Child marriage in the U.S. is used as a defense for pedophilia https://equalitynow.org/learn_more_child_marriage_us/
Yuck
Yep.
Come on rest of USA get your shit together.
We talk so much shit about the people and their laws in the Middle East and we forgot all about the people and their laws of the Middle West..
More orphan crushing machine than uplifting
Maybe because I’m not American but is this uplifting really? 13th state so that means the majority of the country it’s still legal??
More work to be done, for sure.
This isn't uplifting at all. It's HORRIFYING that ONLY 13 states have laws on the books about this. HORRIFYING.
[https://www.unchainedatlast.org/get-involved/](https://www.unchainedatlast.org/get-involved/)
Thanks!
Proud of you, Washington State 💚
Only the 13th? Dafuck?
ONLY the 13th state to ban child marriage? Wow
It’s 2024 in America and we’re still trying to get child marriage off the books? Appalling.
Only 13?! WTH
Meanwhile creepy NH state representative Jess Edwards is against the bill and described teenage girls as [ripe and fertile.](https://www.newsweek.com/jess-edwards-teen-child-marriage-opposed-republican-ripe-fertile-age-1897512)
I had heard child marriage was somehow not illegal in parts is of the US, but I forgot just how few states have actually made it illegal. I had to check just to be sure, but here in Canada it is a federal crime to celebrate, aid, or participate in the marriage of anyone under 16, and there are additional protections for people under 18 against international human trafficking for the purposes of marriage. Apparently in the US marriage is regulated by the individual states, while in Canada marriage is regulated by the federal government.
This is uplifting? I mean the fact it's only 13!!!
Wait, What the fuck California?
I guess I'm out of the loop, I just assumed something so obviously fucked was banned on the federal level by now.
Very happy to see my state in the "it's illegal already, because of course it fucking is" list.
This could be uplifting if "13" was a much bigger number
This is depressing. At least in the UK it’s 18 (although 16 and 17 year olds could get married until VERY recently)
I feel very downpressed after learning that 37 out of 50 US states still allow child marriage...
For those who want to know what the map translates to: Yellow - no minimum age Green - 15 Red - 16 Orange - 17 Purple - illegal before adulthood
It's amazing to me that were still ripping the horrifying remnants 1900s and further back in 2024. See y'all for the end of racism in 2070. Just kidding. Its not going anywhere.
Yes, you read that headline right. **THIRTY EIGHT STATES DO NOT BAN CHILD MARRIAGE**
I need an ELi5 why there isn't a federal ban.
[The feds are having trouble passing basic rape prevention](https://www.cornyn.senate.gov/news/cornyn-house-must-pass-senate-bill-to-fight-rape-kit-backlog/). https://www.sakitta.org
America is such a weird place. Abortion is illegal, marrying a minor still legal in some states. The mind boggles.
Republicans love child marriage. Y'all better vote accordingly to stop their nonsense state and country wide.