Hold onto your hats folks, when this news bit came down the pipeline to my desk. In Colorado, the Court of Appeals ruled that a 15 year-old girl is old enough to be the common-law wife of a man more than twice her age. While I was a pretty mature 15 year-old, I am having a little trouble with this idea. The law is supposed to protect kids and teenagers – especially from impulsive rash decisions like announcing marriage to someone old enough to be her father.
Now, legal experts are speculating that this ruling is opening the door to the possibility those children as young as 12 years old could become common law wives. How can they do this? It’s under English Common Law and the largest problem it creates outside of the obvious issues of conflict between children and their parents. The decision is a potential nightmare for jurists when handed a child molestation case that cites this ruling. The Colorado courts have cited a 19th century U.S. Supreme Court decision and ignored the laws that have passed since that are designed to protect children from physical and sexual abuse.
A Blow to Marriage
This decision is a blow to the estate of marriage because marriage shouldn’t offer legal cover to adults that take advantage of minors. It should be about two consenting adults joining their lives together. Instead, this common law marriage only requires that the couple say they are married. That’s it, they don’t have to hold a ceremony, get a license or otherwise. Instead, a couple can declare they are married and thus, they are married under common law.
In a country that is arguing the debate fiercely about the rights of same-sex partners to enter into a marriage contract, I’m deeply troubled that our legal system is letting down parents and minors alike in turning this case around. Under the English common law that was cited, marriage is legal for girls at the age of 12 and boys at the age of 14.
According to the three judge panel there are no statutory or legislative guidelines that clearly cover common-law marriage and that there is no clear age of consent. However, the traditional ceremonial marriage that we generally recognize for marriage requires a minimum age of 18. With judicial or parental approval, that age can be as low as 16.
What do you think of the effect on common law marriage?
Related Articles:
What Does Marriage Mean To You?