On Tue, 2006-04-18 at 22:11 -0700, Thomas Bushnell BSG wrote: > Ron Johnson <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: > > >> Still, regardless of whether the state of Utah recognizes a marriage, > >> that is surely a different question from whether the marriage has, in > >> fact, occurred. > > > > Making that distinction is, IMO, cracking open a very large barrel > > of very nasty monkeys. > > Not really. Suppose we have two seventeen-year-olds, whose parents > are opposed to their marriage. In Utah, you can only get married > without parental consent if you are eighteen. But these happy folks > of seventeen are in Mississippi, where their marriage is legal even > without parental consent.
Suppose Mississippi allows bigamy... Or, more in keeping with the traditions of the region (remember Jerry Lee Louis?), drops the age of consent to 12, and a 35yo man marries a 12yo girl. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/inatl/longterm/africanlives/ivory/ivory.htm The practice of forcing girls into marriage took hold decades ago throughout sub-Saharan Africa and is especially widespread in countries there with large Muslim populations. The marriages typically occur within clans, the girl compelled to wed a distant relative—often two or three times he Is a man with a child bride who immigrate from Ivory still legally married in the US? > Then, they move to Utah, and enroll in BYU. Would BYU say "ah, in > Utah, you cannot be married until you are eighteen, so, sorry, no, you > are expelled"?! Of course not. BYU would say, "While you cannot > marry in Utah at your age, you can in Mississippi, and you did, and > God bless, you are married." > > So the rule BYU would invoke would not be "we only recognize marriages > that would be legal under the laws of Utah". The rule would be "we > recognize different-sex marriages no matter where performed, provided > they are legal under the local laws where performed, and same sex > marriages, never, no matter what." -- ----------------------------------------------------------------- Ron Johnson, Jr. Jefferson, LA USA "The warning message we sent the Russians was a calculated ambiguity that would be clearly understood." Alexander Haig
