Kentucky religious conservatives support child marriage, which is a barbaric idea

A far-right organization called Family Foundation of Kentucky successfully lobbied Republicans who control the Kentucky State Senate to block passage of a proposed Kentucky state law that would ban child marriage in that state:

A bill outlawing child marriage in Kentucky had been expected to receive a vote in the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday, but that vote has been delayed due to last-minute opposition by the conservative Family Foundation of Kentucky, according to the bill’s lead sponsor.

Sen. Julie Raque Adams, R-Louisville, filed Senate Bill 48 on the first day of this year’s session of the Kentucky General Assembly, which would prohibit anyone under the age of 17 from marrying and only allow 17-year-olds to marry with a judge’s approval.

Under the current law in Kentucky, 16 and 17-year-olds can marry with their parents’ permission, and a girl of any age under 16 can marry as long as they are pregnant and marrying the expectant father. Likewise, a boy of any age can marry a woman that he impregnates under the current law.

Under current Kentucky law, a male person of any age can marry a woman that he impregnates, no matter how young she is. Kentucky has the second-highest rate of child marriages (behind Idaho) and the third-most number of child  marriages (behind Texas and Florida) in the country.

Child marriage is a medieval, barbaric, and downright disgusting concept, and Kentucky and every other state that currently allows child marriage should outlaw it. Young girls should NEVER be forced into marrying grown men. While I disagree with Julie Raque Adams on many other issues, her bill to ban child marriage in Kentucky is a common-sense bill that Kentucky lawmakers should pass as soon as possible.