The , Missouri Senate , on Thursday passed a bill that would stop all kid marriages in the position, barring anyone under 18 from obtaining a marriage certificate under any circumstances.
The legislation, filed by Sen.  , Holly Thompson Rehder, a , Scott City  , Republican, and Sen.  , Lauren Arthur, a , Kansas City  , Democrat, passed the chamber on a vote of 31 to 1. It then heads to the House.
Missouri , position law , now allows 16 and 17- yr- olds to obtain married , as long as they have familial consent. The law has been criticized as a flaw that exposes countless youth to overuse and misuse.
” As a child that was married, I can unequivocally say that it’s a terrible idea and you’re not old enough to make those types of decisions” , , Thompson Rehder , said during a debate on the bill Wednesday.
Thompson Rehder , was  , married at age 15 , to her 21- yr- aged partner in 1984, she has said. A year prior, her girlfriend, at era 16, married her 39- year- aged drug dealer.
After a basic reached up to her and shared her story of surviving a child relationship, Arthur claimed on Wednesday that she filed the policy.
” Usually, child brides are coerced into these couples”, Arthur said. We are aware of the importance of parental consideration when it comes to protecting a child’s best interests, and we have heard real-life examples of people who were forced to wed because their kids wanted them to.
Politicians in 2018 , set the country’s lowest relationship years at 16 , with the acceptance of one parent or guardian. The government’s passage came after The Star revealed that , Missouri , had the country ‘s , most liberal marriage law for 15- year- olds. Prior to now, it was legal for children yet younger to marry without the judge’s consent.
Missouri , does, yet, ban union between a small and everyone 21 or older. The condition ‘s , legal murder law , also prohibits those 21 or older from sexual intercourse with someone under 17.
But opponents of the present law say it also does not go far enough and pushed for the bill passed by the , Senate , on Thursday.
Before the 2018 law, 88 % of adolescents who were married in , Missouri , were age 16 or 17,  , Fraidy Reiss, the founder and executive director of Unchained At Last, a nonprofit seeking to end child marriage nationwide, previously told reporters. The law, Reiss said, has failed to protect 88 % of the people it was intended to help.
Sen.  , Mike Moon, a difficult- proper Republican from , Ash Grove, was the lone senator to vote against the bill on Thursday. In a word to The Star, Moon claimed that he thought the bill constituted a constitutional right that just mandates bills relating to one area.
But the voting came exactly a year after Moon , made remarks in a House hearing , suggesting that children as young as 12 should be able to get married.
Do you know any 12-year-old children who were married? I do. And suppose what? They are also married, Moon said last year in response to questions raised by his bill that forbids gender-affirming treatment for adolescents. Moon was being questioned about his earlier opposition to the 2018 legislation that raised the relationship time to the maximum.
In a subsequent video, Moon later clarified his position, saying,” I do not help people marrying adolescents.” He claimed to be referring to an 11-year-old and a 12-year-old boy who got married after the child became pregnant.
During a reading over the policy in January just one man testified against the policy:  , Timothy Faber, a priest and producer of the Lake of the , Ozarks Baptist Association. Faber formerly served as chair of the , Missouri Human Rights Commission, which enforces the state’s quasi- discrimination laws, until he resigned in December.
Faber recently told The Star that he was opposed to the bill because it lacked any exceptions. He cited a scenario where a “girl gets female and instead of having the child born outside of marriage, they decide to go ahead and marry.” Additionally, he added that there should be a marriage requirement for youth before enlisting in the military.
But Arthur, the , Kansas City  , Democrat, said recently that opposing baby union was an issue that transcends politics, saying that it was lawmakers ‘ duty to “protect girls and make sure that they have beautiful futures in our state”.
This month, lawmakers added a number of amendments to the law, with the majority involving wedding or divorce proceedings.
An act from , Thompson Rehder , changes how fees may get paid in a divorce proceeding. A person may be required to pay the costs of the costs if they refused to comply with a court order to pay the other group.
Arthur also added an amendment that would include factors that judges may consider when giving child custody, including the child’s “physical, personal, educational, and another needs”.
The final change to the bill came from Sen.  , Rick Brattin, a , Harrisonville , Republican. A sheriff or law enforcement official may enforce a person’s custody or visitation rights under current state law.
Brattin’s amendment would change that wording to” shall”, requiring police to enforce those rights.
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