Experts say a majority of states allow 16 and 17-year-olds to wed, and 17 states have no minimum age to marry.
for the first time the extent to which legal loopholes within the U.S. immigration system have enabled thousands of men to bring child brides or fiancées into the U.S. over the past decade.
“I got opposition from mostly legislators who felt there should be no limit," he said."They would say, ‘If you're going to limit this, what about if you're pregnant? You shouldn't be limiting that if a pregnancy is involved.’” “These people would say, ‘Oh, it’s two 16 year-olds, it's their business’,” she said. “It wasn’t two star-crossed lovers, it’s not Romeo and Juliet. It was a predatory marriage.”
State lawmakers are unaware of the problem and how it can harm young women, which leads to hesitation to outlaw it completely, Smoot added. “States where they have an age floor, maybe it's 16, or 16 to 17 years old, they have this wide open potential abuse for parents to pawn their daughters off to whoever will take them,” she said.
Khan added that she would like to see her state become “an example, like Delaware and New Jersey,” which outlawed marriage to anyone younger than 18, with no exceptions, last year.
Australia Latest News, Australia Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Burger King's 17 Cent Coffee Deal Won't Win Customers From McDonalds And StarbucksWill you trade a large Starbucks cappuccino for 30 Burger King cups of coffee?
Read more »
At least 17 Afghan policemen killed in Taliban attacks, officials sayA spokesman in northern Badakhshan province, says three policemen were killed on Friday in the district of Arghanj Khowa, where fighting is still underway.
Read more »
Afghanistan floods kill 17, worsen already desperate situationHeavy rains caused flash floods in western Afghanistan that killed at least 17 p...
Read more »
Tunisia delays presidential elections by one week to Nov 17Tunisia has delayed the first round of its presidential elections by one week to...
Read more »
17 Times Peppa Pig Was Just An Absolute SavageDon't let the sweet voice fool you.
Read more »
17 Times Your Favorite Movies Brainwashed Women Into Devaluing Their Self-WorthNewsflash: We all deserve respect no matter what clothes we have on.
Read more »