Abuse. Yeah. It's in the heart of the abused. The day may yet come that a marriage system that postpones marriage for girls till they are eighteen, nineteen or older, is more widely acknowledged as a form of abuse. I think there are ample sources in the Torah to back up this statement. Are the protectors of the system somehow complicit in eliciting the distress that can be a precursor to a young woman making a poor decision when confronted by the carnal overtures of an educator she admires?
There's only so far you can go in Western society - unless you want to have Kiddushin and Nissuin but no legal marriage, i.e. they would just be like a boyfriend and girlfriend. This could be unhealthy.
Same-sex marriage is fast becoming legal all over this country and you want me to believe "[t]here's only so far you can go in Western society"?
In any case, I live in Maryland:
"Parental consent is needed if under 18 years of age. If you are between 16-18 years of age, one of your parents or guardian must be with you and provide written consent. If you are under 16 years of age, you will need both the written consent of your custodial parent or guardian and the written approval of a judge of the Orphans' Court Division of the Court of Common Pleas. If you are under 18, pregnant or have a child, and show a certificate from a licensed physician stating you are pregnant or have had a child, the parental consent requirement may be waived." http://www.usmarriagelaws.com/search/united_states/teen_marriage_laws/
So, it's clearly doable to have the young man in his eighteenth year, meaning seventeen years old, and the girl a few years younger at time of marriage, without breaking a single law of man or G-d.
Abuse. Yeah. It's in the heart of the abused. The day may yet come that a marriage system that postpones marriage for girls till they are eighteen, nineteen or older, is more widely acknowledged as a form of abuse. I think there are ample sources in the Torah to back up this statement. Are the protectors of the system somehow complicit in eliciting the distress that can be a precursor to a young woman making a poor decision when confronted by the carnal overtures of an educator she admires?
ReplyDeleteThere's only so far you can go in Western society - unless you want to have Kiddushin and Nissuin but no legal marriage, i.e. they would just be like a boyfriend and girlfriend. This could be unhealthy.
ReplyDeleteSame-sex marriage is fast becoming legal all over this country and you want me to believe "[t]here's only so far you can go in Western society"?
ReplyDeleteIn any case, I live in Maryland:
"Parental consent is needed if under 18 years of age. If you are between 16-18 years of age, one of your parents or guardian must be with you and provide written consent. If you are under 16 years of age, you will need both the written consent of your custodial parent or guardian and the written approval of a judge of the Orphans' Court Division of the Court of Common Pleas. If you are under 18, pregnant or have a child, and show a certificate from a licensed physician stating you are pregnant or have had a child, the parental consent requirement may be waived."
http://www.usmarriagelaws.com/search/united_states/teen_marriage_laws/
So, it's clearly doable to have the young man in his eighteenth year, meaning seventeen years old, and the girl a few years younger at time of marriage, without breaking a single law of man or G-d.
NYS allows marriages from age 14.
ReplyDeleteI stand corrected - and now I found out that in the UK you only need to be 16! All those wasted years...
ReplyDeleteOf interest:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-south-yorkshire-28939089
Rotherham child abuse scandal: 1,400 children exploited, report finds