AngB23

Interesting to see "with approval of parents or guardians". So if a child is in the foster care system because real mom and Dad lost their rights to their kids, and some Pedo supplier "Joe Smith" now is legal guardian, I guess for a small fee, Joe Smith will gladly sign off on the marriage.

The bill reeks of Pedo pushing. It's just so disturbing.

mysecretidentity

I'm sure it's still 100% illegal for an adult to marry a 13 year old. This doesn't bother me as much as places with age of consent of 12.

MyNameIsLuka

Do you know when the rejected law was proposed? I ask because Hillary mentioned NH in her emails:

http://www.unionleader.com/voters-first/nh-mention-in-clinton-emails-via-wikileaks-sparks-debate--20161013

aileron_ron

I know where Muslim refugees will live.

Mbailey63

NH is sic! WTF I new knew this pervs! Who the fk would let this law on the books!

RonJahnn

Many states have similar laws. NH isn't nearly the worst either. For example, in CA if the parents agree, there is no age minimum. In NH current law says if the child is above 13, they can marry with parent consent and court approval.

http://family.findlaw.com/marriage/state-by-state-marriage-age-of-consent-laws.html

equineluvr

Idiots! The current age is 13, they tried to raise it to 18.

Should have shot for a middle-ground number, like 16 or 17. They would have had better luck getting it passed.

simi510

Why would they want to allow 13 year olds to get married?

equineluvr

Here are the ostensible reasons:

"Current law allows girls to get married at 13 and boys at 14 if they have court and parental approval.

Republican lawmakers argued raising the minimum age would be detrimental to young military members and pregnant teenagers. David Bates, a Republican state representative, said he was concerned the measure did not include provisions for enlisting 17-year-olds who sought to extend military benefits to a spouse before deploying or pregnant teenagers. Bates contends that raising the minimum age to 18 across the board would result in more children being born out of wedlock.

"There are circumstances where I believe it is appropriate — again, with the consent of parents and guardians and with the approval of the court. I believe there are circumstances where a minor should be able to get married," Bates told WMUR."

The REAL reasons are no doubt more nefarious.