West Virginia Senators Reject Bill to Ban Child Marriage

One of my least-favorite things about America is the way its laws are really antiquated and uneven.  It's  a big part of the serious inequality problems that we have, and one of the things that keep our prison-industrial complex happy.  It's all fairly slapdash and arbitrary, and states can do almost whatever they want -- or not. I remember slavery being outlawed in Mississippi in the 1990s.  Jeez, take your time, no rush or anything.  They weren't doing it anymore, but still.

But this just kills me.

The Hill

"The bill, which was narrowly voted down 9-8 by the committee, sought to establish 18 as the age of consent for marriage and remove the ability for minors to even seek consent from a parent, guardian or court to marry. "

To be clear, it's almost never an underage boy trying to get permission to be married to an old woman.

My friend Wendy Huggy got married, I think she was only 14 or 15 at the time, to a 27-year-old man.  That was in Illinois, before Chris Hansen had a TV show where he tricked guys like that into thinking they might get to marry (or at least bang) a 15-year-old girl.  But on his show, when they got there it was actually cops waiting to arrest them.  Good times!

Why did the State of Illinois allow Wendy to marry this guy without any parental signature?  Her mom had abandoned her.  The rest of her family was in Florida.  Say whatever you want about West Virginia, the rest of America is a shithole for women too.