Thread

1. NDlurker · 1790824641 · focus · HN ↗

   I don't get how child marriage can be legal. Like, yeah, they get permission from their parents. But does the fact that they're married negate other laws??? I mean, it's still rape. It's still like child abuse. Does marriage = emancipation?

   1. [deleted] · 1790824791 · focus · HN ↗

      [deleted]

   2. john_strinlai · 1790825079 · focus · HN ↗

      >I mean, it's still rape.

      im not in support of under-18s getting married, but, what?

      1. NDlurker · 1790825176 · focus · HN ↗

         Never heard of age of consent laws/statutory rape?

         1. BobbyJo · 1790825314 · focus · HN ↗

            Yes, and the laws around that align with marriage laws, so it's still a confusing statement.
         2. john_strinlai · 1790825315 · focus · HN ↗

            if its not statutory rape before they get married, it doesn't suddenly become it afterwards.

            and, as far as i am aware, it requires judicial approval right now. presumably, if it were a case constituting statutory rape, the marriage wouldn't be signed off.

            this isn't about 9 year olds getting married to 30 year olds.

            1. vigilantpuma · 1790825859 · focus · HN ↗

               Statutory rape in California is sexual intercourse with anyone under 18. It’s a misdemeanor if the age difference is less than 3 years, but a felony if the adult is 21. So yes, a lot of these marriages would, in fact, constitute statutory rape.

               That being said, the law makes an exception for married couples.

               1. john_strinlai · 1790825995 · focus · HN ↗

                  >That being said, the law makes an exception for married couples.

                  okay, so we're back to marriage != rape.

                  1. vigilantpuma · 1790826309 · focus · HN ↗

                     I was mostly addressing the “if it wasn’t statutory rape before marriage” claim. The fact is it usually would be.
               2. belorn · 1790861490 · focus · HN ↗

                  Why does the law make an exception if the persons involved are married?

                  1. em-bee · 1790872688 · focus · HN ↗

                     because it is statuary rape even if both voluntarily participate. to punish a married couple for voluntarily having sex would be absurd.
            2. NDlurker · 1790827210 · focus · HN ↗

               No age limits in Guam and Saipan. Age limit of 15 in ¿Kansas? according to a page someone linked to somewhere else in the thread. Also that site claims the youngest marriage in the US since 2000 was a ten year old.
         3. [deleted] · 1790826158 · focus · HN ↗

            [deleted]

         4. tzs · 1790827415 · focus · HN ↗

            In the majority of US states the age of consent is 16 but the general marriage age is 18 so there quite a few states where you can have a child marriage without it being statutory rape.

            If anyone is curious, the age of consent in the US is 18 in 11 states: Arizona, California, Delaware, Florida, Idaho, North Dakota, Oregon, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia, and Wisconsin.

            It is 17 in 6: Colorado, Illinois, Louisiana, Missouri, New York, and Texas.

            In the other 33, and also DC, it is 16.

            It's interesting to compare to Europe. There it is:

              18 in 3 (Vatican City, Turkey, Malta)
              17 in 2 (Cypress, Ireland)
              16 in 20
              15 in 12
              14 in 14
            

            Like the US the general marriage age is 18 in most of Europe, but several countries allow exceptions for 16-17 with parental or judicial consent.

            1. em-bee · 1790829199 · focus · HN ↗

               wikipedia lists 18 european countries where the minimum age is 18 without exception. some of which changed that only recently.
      2. vlyan · 1790829751 · focus · HN ↗

         from what I gather from lurking reddit out of morbid curiosity, it's currently en vogue to brand age gaps as grooming, even when the younger party is in their mid-20's.

         meanwhile in the real world, 60% of men under 30 are single vs 30% of women, because women overwhelmingly prefer older men and men overwhelmingly prefer younger women.

   3. robocat · 1790825807 · focus · HN ↗

      Calling two midteens having sex "rape" or even worse "pedophilia" is plain abusive.

      I'm not talking about older men here.

      I'm saying that we need to be careful to avoid creating harm where there was none.

      1. kazinator · 1790826056 · focus · HN ↗

         Pictures of yourself constituting child porn, making you a felon, is likewise abusive.

         1. robocat · 1790827157 · focus · HN ↗

            I've seen a pattern of judgemental women and men saying they are thinking of the children, while not understanding or not giving a shit, just how much hurt they cause those same children.

            Our "justice" and "health" systems in New Zealand can cause lifelong harm to kids by black-and-white following the rules (at best, because wisdom is difficult or caring is risky).

      2. NDlurker · 1790827099 · focus · HN ↗

         Huh? Dude. The article is about a teenager marrying a 50 year old. I'm not talking about 2 16 year olds getting married.

         1. robocat · 1790828620 · focus · HN ↗

            You are just repeating the framing of the article. Next you'll mention a citation from a biased source.

            Tht article doesn't mention the majority of those marriages between 17 year old female "children" marrying male "adults" (that are 18, 19 or 20 years old).

            Children versus adults is a common framing, that is repeated by even the less biased sources such as the BBC or PBS: <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.pbs.org&#x2F;wgbh&#x2F;frontline&#x2F;interactive&#x2F;child-marriage-by-the-numbers&#x2F;" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.pbs.org&#x2F;wgbh&#x2F;frontline&#x2F;interactive&#x2F;child-marriag...

            Crossing a legal line from a &quot;child&quot; of 17 to an &quot;adult&quot; of 18 doesn&#x27;t have the implications about real world differences in wisdom we might hope for.

         2. wallst07 · 1790849790 · focus · HN ↗

            Another comment pointed out that the article is sensationalist.

            If you bucket all the marries this law would affect, the 50 year old marriage is a far outlier. Most of the marriage gaps for these minors are &lt; 1-2yrs.

   4. vigilantpuma · 1790825905 · focus · HN ↗

      At least in California the statutory rape law exempted married couples.

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