This editorial was published by the Times-News of Twin Falls.
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In Idaho, we care deeply about protecting our children. But last week, Idaho’s House lawmakers killed a bill that would have created new protections for children who may be abused, married off or coerced into relationships with adults.
Idaho has the ugly distinction of having the highest rate of child marriage.
State law says 16- and 17-year-olds need parental consent to marry. A child younger than 16 can marry if a judge allows. A bipartisan bill led by Rep. Melissa Wintrow, D-Boise, would have set the minimum age to marry at 16 and require consent from the child, parents and a court.
“Instead of ending child marriage outright, this is a modest approach to bring it in conformity with our statutory rape laws,” she said.
But on Thursday, 39 Idaho lawmakers decided to put their aversion to what they see as “government overreach” over protecting our state’s children.
Unchained At Last, a national advocacy group against forced and child marriages, says 4,080 children were wed in Idaho from 2000 to 2010. The youngest was just 13.
These aren’t cases of puppy love. In 2017, Frontline reported that nationwide, 87 percent of the minors married from 2000 to 2015 were married to adults. Only 14 percent were married to other children. And, 77 percent of the marriages nationwide were young girls to adult men, reports Unchained At Last. Those statistics should be red flags.
We don’t allow people younger than 18 to vote or buy cigarettes. We insist they be 21 to legally drink alcohol. Why? Because we know that young brains aren’t done growing and developing. We don’t trust teenagers to make many decisions for themselves because we know they often make impulsive decisions they may later regret.
In Idaho, the age of consent to have sex is 18. Yet we allow them to sign a marriage license — often to a much older adult, who, in any other situation could be charged with rape.
And why might an adult give permission for their child to marry an adult? The mind boggles at the horrible possibilities.
Using an argument so full of logical fallacies that it wouldn’t pass muster in a high school debate team, Rep. Christy Zito, R-Hammett, compared the bill to Idaho’s abortion law.
“If we pass this legislation, it will then become easier in the state of Idaho to obtain an abortion at 15 years old than it will to decide to form a family and create a family for a child that has been conceived,” she said.
While illogical, this is also just a bad-faith argument against a bill designed to prevent Idaho children from being coerced into an inappropriate relationship.
Child brides are more likely to drop out of school, more likely to experience domestic violence and more likely to live in poverty.
But Idaho lawmakers, including Twin Falls Republican Rep. Lance Clow, who is the chairman of the House Education committee, refused to protect the most vulnerable among us. Rep. Megan Blanksma, another Hammett Republican, also voted against it.
We applaud Reps. Fred Wood, R-Burley; Sally Toone, D-Gooding; Laurie Lickley, R-Jerome; Clark Kauffman, R-Filer; Linda Hartgen, R-Twin Falls; and House Speaker Scott Bedke, R-Oakley, for voting in support of the bill.
Unfortunately, allowing child marriage is still the law of the land in many states. This year, New Jersey and Delaware banned the practice. Idaho has a rare chance to be at the forefront of a change for good in our country. We hope to see this bill again and to see lawmakers do some real research on the dangers of child marriage.
