Do you think a 15 year-old girl should be able to get married?

There you said it, generally.
The OP was very very specific. No generalities.

Are you thick? It has nothing to do with generalities.

 

Yes it does. You cannot have one set of rules for children, and then make exceptions because of some twisted perception of "maturity" in a 15-year-old child.

 

The OP said nothing about making laws. Not one thing.
The OP was specific, parental permission, father only though,not sure why as I said earlier he/she left the mother out and a Judge. All giving approval.

Debate done. You're just to emotional and bringing up all sorts of non related things to the OP.
Have a nice life.

 

Considering the fact that I WAS a 15-year-old girl, I think I know this subject matter VERY well.

 

Yes you can.

 

"Should 15-year-old girls be allowed to marry?" What the hell does that mean to you? Holy smokes!

 

You have 1 personal anecdotal opinion.

 

No, I also had many friends and I have friends that have 15-year-old children.

Look at you, fighting for 15-year-old children to be married. That's curious. What gives?

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Also, it's not an opinion that me and my friends were VERY immature at 15 years old. MOST 15-year-olds are still kids.

 

Post puberty, therefore not physically a "child".

You are referring to law, I am referring to biological facts.

 

Are you a parent? What makes YOU qualified to say that 15-year-old children are capable of adult intimate relationships? How many 15-year-old children do you know, and how would you know of their "maturity" level unless you hung out with them?

Also, just because a child KNOWS what's right and what's wrong, that in no way means they practice it. Just because a child puts on an "air" of maturity when around older people, in no way indicates that they are actually emotionally or mentally mature enough to handle such relationships in an adult manner. Most often, they are NOT mature enough. A lot of these children who are "trapped" (yes "trapped") in such relationships with older guys are the ones who threaten to kill themselves when they get upset and other such immature things. Why? Because they ARE immature children who cannot handle such relationships. That's why. Psychology 101.

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No, I am referring to biological facts. Fifteen year olds (whether they have started menstruation or not) are not emotionally/mentally mature.

 

Sorry pal. Boobies and menstruation do NOT make a person an "adult." Some girls start menstruating at 9 or 10 years old.

 

Of course you didn't - that's why it was a question. But the point remains that the median is not the same as what is "normal".

 

Personally, I don't think a 15 year old girl should be able to get married because I do not feel like 15 year olds are mature enough to make such a life changing decision.

 

Fortunately, you don't get to make their decisions for them. Their parents get to - along with the laws of the state in which they reside. Unlike you, I'm not into punishing these young girls.

 

Since we know that parents do not always have their daughter's (or son's) best interests at heart, then yes we the people most certainly have a say in such things, and NO, the parents cannot disobey the laws of the land which are by the people and for the people, and these age of consent laws are to protect the young and naive. And yes, I most certainly DO have a say, especially since these types of things tend to affect society in general. MOST people would agree that children should not be getting married.

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Thank you for that post. Finally some sanity.

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Yes, it is an example of what is normal. Normal ages of marriage throughout much of our history has been in the 20s.

 

That's the typical feminist line. But these same feminists believe 15 year old girls have the right to go out there and assert their sexual freedom. It just seems to me that many of the same people opposing marriages at younger ages sing a completely different tune when it comes to sex at younger ages.

 

I used to argue with an admitted pedophile on these topics, and he used to come up with these SAME arguments. That we, as a society, are somehow OPPRESSING girls by having age of consent laws. No, these laws exist to protect the young and naive, and it is the oppressive culture that allows child marriages.

And I believe, in the near future, we will see ages of consent rise and not fall back because of changes in our society as well as new scientific evidence that the frontal lobes in teens and children are not yet completely functional, they in most cases do not possess critical thinking skills, and they are NOT miniature adults.

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Nobody believes that a 15-year-old child should be out having sex. It's just something that happens sometimes. Better to deal with it with teaching sex education and proper safe sex techniques than to ignore it or to marry them off to some pervert.

 

Let's not forget about the incredible influence that parents can have over their children. They are authority figures in a child's life. No one would know if a parent coerced a child into marrying, so NO parental "consent" should not be considered. Fifteen years old is just too damn young for such a relationship, regardless of the stories your granny might tell you. The age should be 18 across the board and should be federally enforced with harsh penalties, perhaps felony charges, for breaking such laws. We need to keep the child predators AWAY from our children at all costs, and unfortunately there are MANY of them out there obviously.

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Punishing them? Nobody is punishing them. Punishing them would be allowing them to make such decisions that would destroy their lives. They are not mature or experienced enough to make such life-changing decisions, as another poster pointed out.

 

The obvious point that you're missing here is that the median is not the norm, there is a range from the median which is the norm. If 20 is the median age for a woman to get married for the first time, it obviously isn't out of the norm for a woman to get married at 19 or 21. The point being that your original point that people under 18 being married was never "normal" is incorrect, because women under 18 would have been within the realm of one or two standard deviation. For much of our history it was not uncommon for women to be married under 18.

But the idea of "normal" is silly in this discussion and has no place here. It is not nor has it ever been "normal", based on the median age of first marriage (which you brought in) for people over 35 to get married - and there is still no valid argument against allowing them to. That something is not common does not mean that it should not be allowed.

 

You're confusing "having a say," and "having an opinion." All you have is an opinion - no say.

In Colorado, a minor can get a judicial court order along with parental consent under 16. Alabama bars kids younger than 14 from marrying and under 18 requires parental consent. You can be 15 in Arizona with notarized parental consent. Arkansas teens at 15 can marry only with a court order, usually given if the girl is pregnant. Florida is the same, the couple must have a child or be pregnant to get a license.

Most states require a judicial order for teens younger than 15, which is much smarter than your opinion, because it takes a look at each request on a case-by-case basis.

So, no - you have no say. You cannot change the laws in those states.

You can only come here and gripe about the laws. LOL

 

Do you think all or most 18 year olds are mature enough to make such a decision? I don't, but I still think they're well within their right to.

 

They might not be mature enough - but if they're going to be parents they're going to have to grow up pretty fast.

If you're really going to stop them from making poor decisions - perhaps you should require hormonal birth control for those teens - or insist that all underage girls have abortions. Perhaps you'd prefer the antiquated chastity belt for these young ladies?

How are you going to stop them?

 

Each State is different, but a 15 year old (girl/boy) can legally marry, with parental consent or in the case of pregnancy. The link above cover's all States.

If maturity is involved, then IMO, some people never reach that point with regards to many emotional feelings and some 13/14 year olds will do just fine. Frankly sexual activity in the younger years, can determine judgment.

 

It not being common is not the reason for not allowing it . . . hello? Median age most certainly does set a standard. It is NOT normal for an adult to want to marry a child.

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Stop them from what? Are you talking about marriage or sex here? The topic is MARRIAGE.

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Generally, yes. There is a BIG difference in maturity level from 15 to 18 years old. Also, they have had an opportunity to complete their primary education and get a little life experience. Children don't have "rights."

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No confusion here. It seems like perhaps YOU are the one who is confused. We can and do petition our representatives. Laws CAN be changed in such ways and have been. Sorry, you aren't going to be allowed to marry 15-year-old children.

 

So basically, what all of you who voted "yes" are trying to convince us of, is that 15-year-old children should be able to make their own decisions when it comes to marriage? That 15-year-olds are known for their great decision-making skills and should not be treated as children.

Well, let me tell you, that is just sick and QUITE disturbing to us "normal" people who see 15-year-olds as they are . . . children who do not make such great decisions and who are quite ignorant when it comes to adult relationships. Most 15-year-olds change boyfriends almost as often as they change underwear. This week, it's Johnny, next week it's Bobby.

Obviously none of you are parents . . . THANKS BE TO GOD.