Louisiana does not have a minimum age limit for marriage.

https://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/news/politics/legislature/article_920fdaf0-85a4-11e9-a334-bb5f784e01c1.html

"Polk County Barbie"
https://i.pinimg.com/originals/70/2b/fd/702bfd652c50bad09193924814eb7f78.jpg


We want children to be born into wedlock if possible,” said Rep. Nancy Landry, R-Lafayette. “We’re discouraging that with this. If they’re both 16 or 15 and having a baby why wouldn’t we want them to get married?”

“A lot of 16-year-olds get pregnant,” added Rep. Valarie Hodges, R-Denham Springs. “Do you feel it’s better for them to not get married at all and for the child to be born illegitimately?”

State Rep. Beryl Amedee, R-Houma, brought an amendment backed by the influential Louisiana Family Forum to heavily rewrite the bill, stripping out the age floor set by Hilferty’s amendment and allowing minors to get married if they undergo a judicial review. A judge would consider a long list of factors when deciding if children should get married.

“I met my husband when I was 14 and he was 15 and if it wasn’t for the belief that we should get a high school diploma before we get married, I would have gotten married at 15,” Amedee said.

Smith, D-Baton Rouge, said she was “in awe” of the opposition to the bill, especially because efforts to provide sex education in Louisiana have repeatedly failed. She pointed to instances of teenage girls being wedded to men in their 30s and 40s.

“That’s not right in our state,” Smith said. “We need to protect our children.”

Will there be a shortage of 12 year old cousins to marry ?

Well, no. That's one of the perks of prohibiting abortion.

>>“A lot of 16-year-olds get pregnant,” added Rep. Valarie Hodges, R-Denham Springs. “Do you feel it’s better for them to not get married at all and for the child to be born illegitimately?”

I feel like Ms. Hodges is overlooking a third option here.

Also, what's with all this "illegitimately" nonsense? Remind me which century we're in...

In France, children born (like mine) outside wedlock are called "natural children". So much nicer. Why add nasty stigma to what is often already a difficult situation?

Tom in Paris

I know, right!? Humans should not be classified by the marital status of their parents. Illegitimate children? Who would think those two words go together in this day and age?

I think some of those conservative types WANT to create reasons to shame people.

Was God married? If not, all of us are illegitimate then? At least Mormons have that one covered.

Funny how Mormons claim we are not judged by the sins of the fathers then turn amound and judge by the status of the fathers.

And where is Planned Parenthood in all this?

Teens WILL have sex. Sex OFTEN results in babies. When contraception is easily and inexpensively available, the odds on unplanned births tend to drop.

Prevent.

Prevent.

Prevent.

Yes, I am. And I spent a decade living in Louisiana. That was the first time I met a 29-year-old grandmother.

Last I knew, about half of the babies born in LA are born out of wedlock.

The level of illiteracy there is staggering. Louisiana is like a third-world country. I have seen areas where naked little toddlers run after chickens, through mud, in shanties that have neither running water nor electricity.

I felt shell-shocked, after moving away from LA, to walk into a book store in another State, and realizing to myself, "OMG. Everybody in here can READ."

Until I moved there, I literally had no idea that there were such thoroughly uncivilized places in the U.S.

Hahaha. When I moved to Alabama, I would hear them talk about LA and I thought they meant Los Angeles until someone explained. I'm still not sure what all it includes when they refer to LA down there. There is more poverty than I thought.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/11/2019 11:02AM by anybody.

In Arkansas if you get a divorce the former wife is still your sister.

These southern states give new meaning to being "sealed to your family!!!"