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Wed 5 Sep, 2007 03:58 am
Marry Our Daughter
Okay. This is creepy: www DOT marryourdaughter DOT com [edit: removing hard link]
About Us wrote:Marry Our Daughter is an introduction service assisting those following the Biblical tradition of arranging marriages for their Daughters.
From their FAQ: " Q: IS YOUR SERVICE LEGAL? A: Absolutely. Within the United States girls can marry as young as 13 years old with parental permission, and the Bride Price is a custom of long standing, mentioned many times in the Bible, and as such is a protected religious practice. Click HERE for a listing of the age limits and legal requirements in various states. Click HERE for what the Bible says on Bride Price."
How about this one?
Quote:Courtney’s grandmother married at 13, her mother married at 13, and Courtney has decided she wants to keep the tradition going. She would prefer to stay close to her large extended southern family and loves farm or at least rural life. She got an A in Home Ec. and has read up on what else would be expected of her as a wife and is looking forward to it.
Bride Price: $49,995
I am a little suspicious that this site is some sort of sick hoax.
I don't know if the site is a hoax of not--I had some trouble drilling down on some of the pages to check out all the content. It is truly outlandish, particularly the bios and bride prices.
There are law enforcement folks who routinely scan the internet for child exploitation sites. If this site isn't a hoax, child welfare & law enforcement will surely be investigating these folks--especially after a few people file complaints! (http://www.cybertipline.com/ or) There is a federal law regarding inter-state trafficking that may prohibit advertising women for marriage like this on the internet. It will be interesting to see how NOW responds to this website.
These folks are claiming what they're doing is protected as a religious practice. WRONG. Both federal and state laws pertaining to exploitation of minors will trump that card. If they are investigated in a sting operation, the parents will have to demonstrate that their daughter is not being coerced to consent. What will be interesting to see is how long the site stays up and what the media do if they get onto it before law enforcement.
Very helpful resource link, Thorwald. Thanks!
Now I'm feeling a little shocked by the state that has the lowest possible age of consent--Massachusetts--12 years old? My gosh, that goes back to the colonial period, when 8-year-olds were deemed able to give consent to sexual intercourse. And Massachusetts is supposed to be progressive. They're the state that legalized same-sex marriage.
The so-called "red neck" states with significant Appalachian populations, you know, home to the Coal Miners' daughters--Kentucky & West Virginia-- place age of consent to marriage at 18!
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