A Florida lawmaker made headlines Wednesday when she announced her plans to stop marriages in the state from going forward if both partners are younger than 16.
“Marriage is an adult responsibility,” Stafford told the Florida House Civil Justice Subcommittee, according to the Sun-Sentinel. “We don’t want [children] to vote, we don’t want them to drink alcohol, they can’t drive a car — and we allow them to marry under 16?”
The current laws regarding marriage of under-18 persons stipulate that minors can be married with parental permission if the couple is expecting or already has a child, both parents are dead or the minors have previously been married.
Stafford’s proposal to ban marriages for children younger than 16, regardless of circumstances, passed unanimously in the House Civil Justice Committee on Tuesday without debate.
This piece of legislation is borne of necessity: In her testimony before the committee, Stafford said that in 2012, there was a 13-year-old groom in Florida. Last year, according to the Orlando Sentinel, “Florida recorded 110 marriages of children 16 and younger.”
Child marriage is an international human-rights issue. In regions of Africa, South Asia and Latin America, the practice is driven by poverty: Parents see it as a way to secure the financial future of their daughters.
A different kind of pressure drives child marriage in the U.S. -- societal pressure. That’s why special circumstances are awarded to preadolescents who have mothered and fathered infants.
For these teens, however, matrimony isn’t the answer.
In a time of serious hormonal and physical changes, marriage shouldn’t be on the table. And even for teen parents, marriage isn’t a solution to the problem of raising a baby while struggling with one’s own identity, education and growth.
Preadolescence is a crucial period in the development of a child’s brain. It’s during this time, according to the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, that people begin developing their sense of executive function. “Executive function” describes our capacity to control and coordinate our thoughts and behavior, including selective attention and decision making.
Stafford’s proposal, then, makes sense.
It’s not a violation of the civil rights of minors, as some will surely argue. The issue of child marriage also goes beyond psychology: Consent comes into question.
The motive of Stafford’s proposal was Sherry Johnson, whose 1972 case in Pinellas County gained national attention when she was raped and impregnated at 10 years old. When Sherry was 11, her mother granted permission for the girl to marry her 20-year-old rapist.
Examination of the context and motives of most child-marriage cases makes one thing clear: Legislation is needed to prevent minors from getting married, even under special circumstances. Stafford’s proposal would be a huge, welcome step in preventing marriage for kids who aren’t old enough to drive, vote or drink.
[A version of this editorial ran on page 6 on 3/20/2014 under the headline "Young love? Florida should ban under-16 marriages"]
