Thursday, February 16, 2006

No wonder Dorothy took off for Oz

The Kansas state house of representatives passed a bill this week that, if ratified in the state senate, would raise the minimum age for marriage in their state to 16.

Yes, you read that correctly: raise. Currently, the minimum is 12, with parental consent.

I'll say that again. Under current Kansas law, you can get married at 12, if your parents say it's okay.

What kind of parent would give permission for a 12-year-old child to get married? Apparently, the kind that live in Kansas — where 34 underage marriages have been performed in the past six years.

As though that wasn't weird enough, one Kansas lawmaker actually opposed raising the minimum marital age. Bonnie Huy, a representative from Wichita, "didn't want to limit Kansans facing the most important decision of their young lives."

Somebody please tap Bonnie on the shoulder and welcome her to the 21st century.

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