Current Events > Tennessee proposed bill would allow for marriage with no age requirement

(+) Yeah! (+)

https://www.wkrn.com/news/tennessee-politics/a-get-out-of-jail-free-card-gop-bill-would-eliminate-age-requirements-for-marriages-in-tennessee/

The bills sponsor, Tom Leatherwood (R-Arlington) said the law being considered would add a new marriage option for Tennesseans. So, all this bill does is give an alternative form of marriage for those pastors and other individuals who have a conscientious objection to the current pathway to marriage in our law.

But missing from the bill are age requirements, opening the door for possible child marriages. Something the bill sponsor acknowledged during a Children and Family Affairs subcommittee. There is not an explicit age limit, Leatherwood said.

Representative Mike Stewart (D-Nashville), who sits on the subcommittee the bill passed out of, said he doesnt understand the motivation. I dont think any normal person thinks we shouldnt have an age requirement for marriage.

He added it could open up the possibility to cover up child sex abuse. It should not be there as its basically a get out of jail free card for people who are basically committing statutory rape I mean its completely ridiculous, so thats another reason why this terrible bill should be eliminated, Steward said.

So...

Same-sex marriage = Bad
Child marriage = Good

These people are braindead. Or evil. Or both.

So, all this bill does is give an alternative form of marriage for those pastors and other individuals who have a conscientious objection to the current pathway to marriage in our law.

like, what does that even mean? can someone ELI5?

Matt Gaetz is now downloading Zillow to look up Tennessee real estate

Republicans simply love pedophilia

Solar_Crimson posted...

both.

Always both.

It needs an age requirement, I'm fine with it at 15-16, but no age requirement is far too risky.

Text of bill: https://www.capitol.tn.gov/Bills/112/Bill/HB0233.pdf
I don't see where this suddenly establishes child marriage, but the wording is so obtuse and convoluted that I don't understand it anyway.

Hop103 posted...

I'm fine with it at 15-16,

y i k e s

you actually think it's acceptable for a 15 year old to get married to a 30 year old? a fifteen year old?

Hop103 posted...

It needs an age requirement, I'm fine with it at 15-16, but no age requirement is far too risky.

Still under the AOC. 18+.

Yeah, I'd expect that from Tennessee.

Teach kids about racism
Let kids get married

That state sucks

ugh...why...why is this even needed to be brought up? Arent the republicans the champions against child molestation? wtf

spikethedevil posted...

Still under the AOC. 18+.

A lot of states still have marriage at 16 and a few at 15, I'm just going by the current laws regarding marriage.

Hop103 posted...

A lot of states still have marriage at 16 and a few at 15, I'm just going by the current laws regarding marriage.

There's 9 states with no age minimum (TN isn't currently one of them), and Alaska allows it at 14. You need parental permission or a judge's approval in basically all the states that allow underage marriage. There's only six states that completely ban marriages under 18.

PMarth2002 posted...

There's 9 states with no age minimum (TN isn't currently one of them), and Alaska allows it at 14.

14 is too young for marriage and I wonder why the other states AOM hasn't been addressed where there's no age limit.

Giant_Aspirin posted...

like, what does that even mean? can someone ELI5?

"We believe children should be married at whatever age WE think is right.."

Questionmarktarius posted...

Text of bill: https://www.capitol.tn.gov/Bills/112/Bill/HB0233.pdf
I don't see where this suddenly establishes child marriage, but the wording is so obtuse and convoluted that I don't understand it anyway.

The article explains it better - basically this new marriage option *doesn't* specify a minimum age, so a ten year old (or younger) could be married off.

Additionally (they address this in the article) this means a child abuser can legally marry their victim (if they aren't in prison etc) and use marital privilege to keep the victim from testifying

This seems like a pointless can of worm to opens..then again its being done by Republicans so of course they didn't think it through.

So right now the priorities of republicans are, they want to marry kids?

What a shit hole

MabusIncarnate posted...

So right now the priorities of republicans are, they want to marry kids?

NO MAN! they totally don't!...This Law would just make it possible and they could amend it to fix that but won't....BUT NAH MAN THEY DON'T WANT THAT TO HAPPEN.

Of course, the same group who screeched about child molesters when attacking transexuals are the ones making it easier for child molesters...Project, Project, Project.

Questionmarktarius posted...

Text of bill: https://www.capitol.tn.gov/Bills/112/Bill/HB0233.pdf
I don't see where this suddenly establishes child marriage, but the wording is so obtuse and convoluted that I don't understand it anyway.

"SECTION 1. Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 36, Chapter 3, Part 1, is amended by deleting 36-3-103 36-3-112."

Tennessee Code 36-3-105 is part of the code that is deleted and is the part that establishes a minimum age for marriage. It says:

1. It is unlawful for any county clerk or deputy clerk in this state to issue a marriage license to any person where:
2. Either of the contracting parties is under seventeen (17) years of age; or
3. One (1) of the contracting parties is at least seventeen (17) years of age but less than eighteen (18) years of age and the other contracting party is at least four (4) years older than the minor contracting party.
4. Any marriage contracted in violation of subsection (a) may be annulled upon proper proceedings therefor by such person or any interested person acting in the persons behalf.

Ruvan22 posted...

So, all this bill does is give an alternative form of marriage for those pastors and other individuals who have a conscientious objection to the current pathway to marriage in our law.

As someone who lives in Tennessee and got married in this state, this comment is so fucking stupid. TN won't let you have a court house wedding and just sign a few documents. They make you participate in a ceremony. Most county clerks won't perform the marriage so they don't have to marry gay people. Marriage is purely treated as a religious ceremony in Tennessee instead of a legal contract between two people like it's supposed to be.

They just want to make inbreeding there even more common if the sanctity of marriage is in play.

harley2280 posted...

As someone who lives in Tennessee and got married in this state, this comment is so fucking stupid. TN won't let you have a court house wedding and just sign a few documents. They make you participate in a ceremony. Most county clerks won't perform the marriage so they don't have to marry gay people. Marriage is purely treated as a religious ceremony in Tennessee instead of a legal contract between two people like it's supposed to be.

Wow I'm surprised it hasn't been litigated

If anyone is wondering why I am so insistent on abolishing the Republican party and imprisoning its politicians, it's because this is my state.

Ok, so the article tells us all about the missing age requirements but what the fuck is the actual purpose of the law? What is it supposed to be doing differently than their current marriage laws? What are the aspects of current laws that some "pastors and other individuals who have a conscientious objection to" are they trying to get around?

Can we round up all these people and send them on a space shuttle straight into the fucking sun please? The world is well beyond it's human-stupidity quota, it simply cannot take anymore. The dam is full to bursting at this rate.

TentacleDemon posted...

Ok, so the article tells us all about the missing age requirements but what the fuck is the actual purpose of the law? What is it supposed to be doing differently than their current marriage laws? What are the aspects of current laws that some "pastors and other individuals who have a conscientious objection to" are they trying to get around?

its all very cryptic, which makes me think they did this to make it easier for other types of marriage to just slide under the radar. Polygamy, etc....and of course no age limits

Finally, the Republican congressman's dream of a 10 year old wife can come true in America! ....

How can kids consent to marriage if they can't even consent to sex? You know this country has some shitty priorities when they rather see child marriages than gay marriages.

The Wheelman1 posted...

How can kids consent to marriage if they can't even consent to sex? You know this country has some shitty priorities when they rather see child marriages than gay marriages.

These assholes from these armpit parts of the country certainly don't speak on my behalf; these fools have their own disgusting misplaced priorities and crooked agendas. They make that painfully apparent every time they try to pull something like this, or when they open their own fucking fat stupid mouths. It's like Jeff Foxworthy said, you mix raw sewage with pond scum, you ain't getting Evian. And these brainless idiots are even worse than either of those things.

TentacleDemon posted...

Ok, so the article tells us all about the missing age requirements but what the fuck is the actual purpose of the law? What is it supposed to be doing differently than their current marriage laws? What are the aspects of current laws that some "pastors and other individuals who have a conscientious objection to" are they trying to get around?

That is a very good question, I wish the reporter/article had asked the proponent this

JE19426 posted...

Tennessee Code 36-3-105 is part of the code that is deleted and is the part that establishes a minimum age for marriage. It says:

Ah, thanks for that.
Looks like someone ax-murdered a bunch of statutes in one go, and 105 was in the middle.

Questionmarktarius posted...

Ah, thanks for that.
Looks like someone ax-murdered a bunch of statutes in one go, and 105 was in the middle.

Are you saying this specific statue wasn't intentional?

Ruvan22 posted...

Are you saying this specific statue wasn't intentional?

Probably, but there's plausible deniability about it.
I still don't understand the intent of this bill at all.

Questionmarktarius posted...

Probably, but there's plausible deniability about it.
I still don't understand the intent of this bill at all.

So you don't understand the intent of the bill.. but you understand enough to feel the minimum age statue was "accidentally" taken out?

Ruvan22 posted...

So you don't understand the intent of the bill.. but you understand enough to feel the minimum age statue was "accidentally" taken out?

Yes, including the quotes around "accidentally".

Questionmarktarius posted...

Yes, including the quotes around "accidentally".

Those are my quotes, I wasn't sure you were stating you felt it was probably a mistake (that they didn't bother to check the range in deleting 36-3-103 36-3-112)? If so what is in 103, 104, 106, 107, 108, 109, 110, 111, 112 that they were trying to capture?

You can get married in Ohio at 16 if your parents or legal guardian sign off on it. It's common with teenage pregnancies. Age of consent here is 16.

Are we assuming that "married" is some divine permission to fuck? All but the most Jesusy conservatives have abandoned that ideal already.

jpenny2 posted...

Teach kids about racism
Let kids get married

GOP: Don't say "gay"! It harms the children!
Also GOP: We should let kids get married. Becuz freedumbz.

Considering when it was posted, I was kind of hoping this was an April Fool's joke...

Removing the age requirement for marriage to stick it to the gays

Ok, GOP

Maybe theres sick people on both sides of the aisle

CreekCo posted...

Maybe theres sick people on both sides of the aisle

BoTh SiDeS

Shut the fuck up. Only one side of the isle is calling the other side pedophile cannibals, and then turning around and trying to legalize underage marriage. Under age marriage has been used for decades in the south to protect child rapist.

https://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/commentary/2018/07/11/she-was-forced-into-child-marriage-in-texas-now-she-wants-to-end-the-pain-for-others/

https://www.theguardian.com/inequality/2018/feb/06/it-put-an-end-to-my-childhood-the-hidden-scandal-of-us-child-marriage

https://prostasia.org/blog/child-marriage-is-not-consensual-americas-dirty-little-secret/

wonder what all these freedom-fighting anti-cabal "patriots" think