LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - A law passed this year allows Arkansans of any age — even infants — to marry if their parents agree, and the governor may have to call a special session to fix the mistake, lawmakers said Friday.
The legislation was intended to establish 18 as the minimum age to marry but also allow pregnant teenagers to marry with parental consent, bill sponsor Rep. Will Bond said. An extraneous "not" in the bill, however, allows anyone who is not pregnant to marry at any age if the parents allow it.
"It's clearly not the intent to allow 10-year-olds or 11-year-olds to get married," Bond said. "The legislation was screwed up."
The bill reads: "In order for a person who is younger than eighteen (18) years of age and who is not pregnant to obtain a marriage license, the person must provide the county clerk with evidence of parental consent to the marriage."
A code revision commission — which fixes typographical and technical errors in laws — had tried to correct the mistake, but a group of legislators said Friday the commission went beyond its powers.
"You're either pregnant or you're not pregnant," Sen. Dave Bisbee said. "Rarely will that be a typographical error."
The Arkansas Legislative Council asked the independent commission to reverse its correction. Several lawmakers said a special session may be necessary.
"We need a special session to fix this," Sen. Sue Madison said. "I am concerned about pedophiles coming to Arkansas to find parents who are willing to sign a very young child's consent."
Before the new law took effect July 31, girls could get married with parental consent at 16 and boys at 17.
The Legislature formally adjourned its session in May and is not scheduled to meet again until January 2009, unless Gov. Mike Beebe calls a special session. Beebe said he wanted to look at all options for correcting the error before deciding whether to call a special session.
2007-08-18 10:33:36 · 10 answers · asked by Me 2 in Entertainment & Music ➔ Polls & Surveys
I think it's better to decide to get married at and older age than 18, because by then, most will be a bit wiser at their decision.
2007-08-18 10:39:05 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Statistically most couples who mary under the age of 23 get divorced within ten years. So, with this said, I don't think it's an intelligent decision to get married young. When you are young you are not fully developed as an adult yet, so how can you know what kind of person you want? Young couples are usually immature in many ways- mainly financially and emotionally- both are primary causes of divorce. Also, I think a lot of people get married young because they are naive to the world and have a very small view of what love and marriage is. They do not understand that just becuase you love someone doesn't mean you should get married. Plenty of people fall out of love it happens everyday. Many people get married young for religious reasons (abstinance) which I also disagree with. So overall I think wait until at least 27!
2016-05-22 05:27:56 · answer #2 · answered by ? 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I sang at a friend's wedding and she was 15. She wasn't pregnant, either, but her guy was going into the service and she wanted to go with him.
I think it is okay as long as there isn't some sort of creepy age difference, like say a 30 year old man looking for a teen girl. Then it is NO WAY. There should be an age difference clause in there.
2007-08-18 10:42:42 · answer #3 · answered by greengo 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
That is pretty gross..... pedophiles don't really need any encouragement! Anyone under 18 is too young to get married in any case, but if the girl is pregnant, at least there is a reason....
2007-08-18 10:38:27 · answer #4 · answered by from HJ 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
The government does.
As a teenager, I say 95% of teenagers are no where near mature enough for marriage. No matter what they may think. I'm in that statistic, too, by the way.
2007-08-18 10:39:14 · answer #5 · answered by Amanda 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
i think that with the parents consent they should be able to get marry. I mean in Dominican Republic, it is the same . You have to be 18 to get marry, but if you're younger you need your parents consent.
2007-08-18 11:20:10 · answer #6 · answered by jossy 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
My opinion is that you should marry at any age as long as your really in love
2007-08-18 10:38:50 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
That is the stupidest thing ever! I think you should be at LEAST 20!
2007-08-18 10:42:14 · answer #8 · answered by SamanthaDew 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Oh!!!! Wouldn't "The Travelers" sect just Love this law?????
2007-08-18 10:39:26 · answer #9 · answered by ♥♥The Queen Has Spoken♥♥ 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
i think younger is better
2007-08-18 10:37:36 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 1⤋