美国数州试图禁止一项禁忌的婚姻习俗 [美国媒体]

Several states are trying to outlaw a taboo marriage practice

数州试图禁止一项禁忌的婚姻习俗

Lisa Suhay, Christian Science Monitor

Lisa Suhay，《基督教科学箴言报》


 
美国很少讨论“童婚”——但它存在
（非原文配图，引自原文相关报道配图）

In the state of Virginia, a 13-year-old child can legally marry an adult twice her age, and all that's needed is a clerk's consent, provided she is pregnant and has parental consent. 

在弗吉尼亚州，一名13岁的孩子可以和大她一倍年纪的人结婚，只需符合“Clerk许可”，证明她怀孕并有父母的许可就行。

That is expected to change this week, however, after Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe signs reform legislation. If he signs the bill passed Tuesday, the Virginia law may be the first domino in a chain of legislatures around the nation.

然而，在本周弗吉尼亚州长Terry McAuliffe签署了改革法案后，这个情况可能会有改变。如果他签署的法案于周二通过，弗吉尼亚将成为全国范围立法链条上的第一块多米诺骨牌。

Similar bills are in the works in New York (A. 8563), Maryland (H.B. 911), and New Jersey (A. 3091) where, as in many other states, marriage age limits set at 16 to 18 years old are easily set aside through exceptions based on parental and/or judicial consent, or pregnancy.

类似的法案在纽约州、马里兰州和新泽西州都在进行中，和其它州一样，那里结婚年龄被限定在16到18岁，但很容易在父母和/或司法批准下通过，或在怀孕时获得特许。

“Child pregnancy should trigger alarm bells, not wedding bells,” says Marlene Hartz, spokesperson for the legal advocacy group Tahirih Justice Center. The Virginia-based nonprofit, founded to help women who are survivors of a wide range of violence, including forced marriage, recently analyzed marriage data from select states and found “disturbing results.” The group is working in partnership with Hogan Lovells, Unchained at Last, and the National Organization for Women (NOW).

“儿童怀孕应该敲响警钟，而不是婚钟。”法律救济团体Tahirih正义中心的发言人Marlene Hartz说。该团体是建于弗吉尼亚的非赢利机构，用于帮助遭受广义暴力（包括强制婚姻）的女性。他们近来对选定的数个州所做的数据分析显示出了“糟糕的结果”。该团体与霍金路伟律师事务所、“最终解脱”和全国妇女组织（NOW）都建立了合作关系。

“A child who’s 13 and pregnant – it’s rarely the case that the 13-year-old is marrying a 17-year-old,” said State Sen. Jill Vogel (R), who sponsored Senate Bill 415 in Virginia, to local media. ”It’s more often the case that it is a child marrying somebody decades older than they are.”

“一名13岁的怀孕儿童，很少是和17岁的人结婚，”弗吉尼亚州参议院415号法案提案人、共和党州参议员Jill Vogel告诉当地媒体，“通常是儿童与大他们数十岁的人结婚。”

Proponents of this legislation want to see it in all 50 states, because they say that victims of forced and child marriage can face severe and lifelong consequences – including physical, psychological, sexual, and economic abuse, mental health problems, and a loss of freedom to choose and make their own futures.

该立法的支持者希望这能在全部50个州施行，他们说强制婚姻和童婚的受害者将面对严酷的终生后果，包括生理、心理、性及经济上的羞辱，精神健康问题，还有失去自由选择自己未来的机会。

“The common assumption we are seeing is the belief that child marriages don't happen that often – and when they do, it's believed they are Romeo-and-Juliet-aged peers, which is not what we are seeing happen here," says Jeanne Smoot, senior policy counsel for Tahirih.

“人们通常都假定童婚不那么常见——即便有，也是发生在‘罗密欧与朱丽叶’这样的同龄人之间，而我们所看到的并非如此。”Tahirih的高级政策顾问Jeanne Smoot说。

"The data shows it’s girls under the age 18, including some who are well under age 15, being married to adults and one-third of the time that adult is over 21." 

“数据显示18岁以下、包括不到15岁的女孩嫁给了成年人，其中1/3年纪大于21岁。”

The Tahirih study found that nearly 4,500 children were married in Virginia between 2004 and 2013, and more than 200 of them married at age 15 or younger.  About 90 percent of the underage spouses in Virginia are girls. Among the very youngest (15 or younger), there are 13 times more underage brides than grooms.

Tahirih发现在2004年到2013年间，弗吉尼亚州有将近4500名儿童结婚，其中超过200名是在15岁或更低龄时结婚的。90%的低龄配偶是女孩。在最低龄的年龄段（15岁或更低），新娘的数量是新郎的13倍。

In Maryland, Tahirih found that, since 2000, more than 3,000 children were married. About 85 percent of the underage spouses were girls. Particularly alarming was a 2012 case in which a 16-year-old-girl married a man in his late 30s.

Tahirih发现，自2000年来，马里兰州有超过3000名儿童结婚。85%的低龄配偶是女孩。特别惊人的是2012年的一个案例，一名16岁女孩被嫁给了快40岁的男子。

“In 2006 the State of Georgia did away with the pregnancy exception to their underage marriage law, to respond to cases in which those being investigated on charges of statutory rape had tried to avoid punishment by simply marrying the child they were accused raping,” says Ms. Smoot.

“在2006年，乔治亚州废除了低龄婚姻法律中的怀孕特许，此前的调查显示，一些案例中，人们为了避免因强奸指控受罚而与被害者结婚。”Smoot女士说。

In New York state, 16- and 17-year-olds may marry with “parental consent” and 14- and 15-year-olds may wed with judicial approval. The data show that 3,853 children were married between 2000 and 2010.

在纽约州，大于16或17岁就可以在“父母批准”下结婚，而大于14和15岁就能在“司法批准”下结婚。数据显示2000年到2010年间有3853名儿童结婚。

State data from 2011, excluding New York City, showed that a 14-year-old married a 26-year-old, a 15-year-old was wed to a 28-year-old, another 15-year-old was wed to a 25-year-old, and a third 15-year-old married someone age “35 to 39.”

不包括纽约市在内的州数据显示，在2011年，有14岁与26岁结婚的、15岁和28岁结婚的、15岁和25岁结婚的，还有三例是15岁同“35岁到39岁”的结婚的。

All of those marriages were approved by New York judges.

所有这些婚姻都得到了纽约州法官的批准。

Sonia Ossorio, President of NOW New York, says that when she met with New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo about the issue, “He was strongly supportive of the bill. He said it’s time for something to be done to end this.”

纽约国妇组总裁Sonia Ossorio称她和纽约州长Andrew Cuomo谈起此事，“他强烈支持这个法案，说是时候做点什么结束这种事了。”

Overall, there has been little public opposition to anti-child-marriage legislation. “There has been no organized push-back against our efforts," says Fraidy Reiss, founder of Unchained at Last. "I don’t think anybody wants forced marriage to continue.”

总之，对反童婚立法的反对声并不大。“没有什么有组织力量反对我们的工作，”最终解脱的创始人Fraidy Reiss说，“我认为没人想让强制婚姻继续下去。”

Between 1995 and 2012, 3,499 New Jersey children were married, says Ms. Reiss. Most were age 16 or 17 and married with parental consent, but 178 were between ages 10 and 15, meaning a judge approved their marriages. Of those children, 91 percent married adults, often with age differences that could have triggered statutory-rape charges.

Reiss女士说，在1995年到2012年间，新泽西州有3499名儿童结婚。其中大部分是16到17岁，在父母许可下结婚，但有178人年龄只有10到15岁，意味着是一位法官核准了他们的婚姻。这些儿童中91%与成年人结婚，其年龄差异足以构成法律上的强奸指控。

“The worst case in New Jersey was that of a judge in 2006 approving the marriage of a 10-year-old boy to an 18-year-old woman,” Reiss says. “A judge in 1996 allowed a 12-year-old girl to marry a 25-year-old man.”

“最坏的案例是新泽西一位法官在2006年核准了10岁男孩和18岁女子的婚姻，”Reiss说，“还有法官在1996年允许12岁女孩嫁给25岁男子。”

In Texas from 2009 to 2013, some 718 children between the ages of 15 and 17 were married. Texas, with its every-other-year legislative cycle, will see this legislation next year.

在2009年到2013年间，德克萨斯州有718名15到17岁之间的儿童结婚。德州依据其“再等一年”立法流程，会在明年考虑相关立法。

“That is just the few states where we have completed the data examination,” says Reiss. “We intend to examine every state in the nation. We are also looking for more partners to help us protect children.”

“那只是我们完成数据检查的少数几个州，”Reiss说，“我们想检查国内的每个州。我们也在寻找更多父母帮助我们保护儿童。”

Globally, 88 percent of countries set 18 as the minimum marriage age, but more than half allow minor girls to marry with parental consent, according to the World Policy Center.

据世界政策中心说，全球范围内，有88%的国家设定18岁为最低结婚年龄，但其中超过一半国家允许未成年女孩在父母许可下结婚。


depression    on  Mar 9, 8:27 PM  said:  
Fantastic! Now we can pay child support AND the cost to imprison the father .....
Seems more of a win win if they want to get married from my perspective, at least that way the child has a father and the mother doesn't have to live out her life as a single mother ...
One could make a case that sexual abuse has occured, but then we could also argue human nature as well ... This is why I'm assuming that the family would have to give consent for the daughter to marry .....
Honestly at the end of the day I think the court system should be there to extract a measure of justice if the families so desire but at the same time if that family would like to take another route that option should also be there as well ...  
​
太好了！现在我们能通过监禁父亲来支持孩子了。
在我看来，如果他们想结婚，那就是双赢。至少女孩有父母在身边，不会过上单身母亲的日子。
你可以说什么案例里有性羞辱，然后我们就要开始讨论人性啊什么的……所以我才要假定家庭应该有授予女儿结婚的许可权。
说真的，最终是司法系统决定对家庭意愿的判定尺度，同时，如果某个家庭想走另一条路，也不是不可以。

S. Johnson   on  Mar 9, 11:36 PM  said:  
@depression:  "Depression" - your comment is idiotic. Children should never be married off, even if their parents think it's o.k.  

你的评论太白痴了。儿童永远不该结婚，即便他们的父母觉得没事。

Blanche Quizno   on  Mar 10, 12:12 AM  said:  
@depression:  I can see why you're depressed, "depression". Yeah, the world's a horrible place, we should just accept everything that happens and try to make the best of it, right?  

我明白你为什么抑郁了。是啊，世界是个可怕的地方，我们应该接受一切，力求最好，是吗？

BeauCharles    on  Mar 10, 4:34 AM  said:  
@depression:  Back in the 1960s my then 14 year old sister got pregnant by her 17 year old boyfriend. She actually let him in through her bedroom window. Both sets of parents were upset but that was pre-abortion times. When my nephew was born she was just 15 and the father was 18. They got married after my parents agreed to it. Of course it didn't last - they were divorced within five years. That's how things like that were handled 50 years ago though. Funny thing - I was less than three years old at the time and my nephew ended up being like my little brother. We were very close growing up. Back the subject of the article - my sister and ex-brother in law were only three years apart and both still in high school. Kids marrying adults substantially older than them is just... suspicious.  

上个世纪60年代，我那14岁的姐姐被她17岁的男友搞怀孕了。她真的让他从卧室窗户进来的。双方父母都不高兴，但那是个不许堕胎的时代。我外甥出生的时候，他妈妈只有15岁，父亲18。在我父母同意后，他们结婚了。当然这长不了——他们五年后就离婚了。这就是50年前这种事的处理方式。搞笑的是，我那会只有3岁，外甥就跟我弟弟一样，和我一起玩闹长大。回到文章主题——我姐姐和前姐夫只有3岁差距，同时在读高中。孩子和大他们许多的成年人结婚就太可疑了……

HarleyBob   on  Mar 10, 6:52 AM  said:  
@depression:  You can't be serious. If you are, I hope some three letter government agency is watching you.  

你不是说真的吧。否则我就希望某个三个字母的政府机构关心一下你了。

savage393    on  Mar 10, 6:54 AM  said:  
@depression:  At thirteen, no child WANTS to get married. Most likely she didn't want to be pregnant either. If she is marrying some one who is twice her age, I'm sure it isn't consensual. In most states any child must be at least 16 to give consent for anything legal. If the parents want the girl married at 13, they should be shot on the spot. Any girl who is pregnant at thirteen was raped. Someone should be going to jail. The girl should be allowed an abortion, or the parents must sign a binding document saying they take full parental oversight for the child to be born.  

13岁的时候，没哪个孩子想结婚，恐怕她也不想怀孕。如果她嫁给某个大她一倍的人，我肯定这不是两厢情愿的事。在很多州，儿童必须到16岁才有合法的许可权。如果什么父母要女孩在13岁结婚，该就地枪决。13岁的女孩怀孕，就是强奸，就该关起什么人。女孩该被允许堕胎，或者她父母该签署个有约束力的文件，承诺在孩子出生后承担全部的照顾责任。

Aloha Snackbar   on  Mar 9, 9:17 PM  said:  
This new law will discriminate against us Muslims. We prefer child brides!  

这个新法歧视我们穆斯林。我们乐意要儿童新娘！

Razpootina   on  Mar 10, 8:12 AM  said:  
@Aloha Snackbar:  You are not paying attention you inbred imbecile (Aloha Snackbar), given the demographics the perps are holier-than-thou so-called Christians who always harp about 'traditional marriage,' while you pork your under age cousin in your trailer park.  

你没仔细看，你这个近亲生出来的傻瓜。从人口分析看，罪魁祸首就是假仁假义的所谓基督徒。你在停车场干你表妹的时候，他们整天大谈什么“传统婚姻”。

Mncookie   on  Mar 10, 8:15 AM  said:  
@Aloha Snackbar:  Well if that is what you like then go back to where you can marry children. You are in the USA and we do what is needed to protect the children.  

如果你喜欢就回到你能娶儿童的地方去吧。你现在在美国，我们会努力保护儿童的。

TODD   on  Mar 10, 8:54 AM  said:  
@Aloha Snackbar:  Aloha, unlike the rest of the commenters, I see your politically incorrect humor, and was thinking the same exact thing myself. Wake up folks, he's shining light on the parallel issue we have staring us in the face here and abroad. The animals who are marrying, raping and killing children in the name of a 'peaceful' religion want to bring those 'religious rights' with them to America. And guess what - I wouldn't be surprised if this pathetic, spineless, politically correct government allows it because, heaven forbid, we infringe on someone's religious 'rights' or 'freedom'. Everyone hand over your guns, and lock up your children and goats.  

我和其它评论者不同啊，我懂你那政治不正确的幽默，深有同感。醒醒吧，老乡们！他不过是突出了我们在国内外都要面对的问题。那些动物，以“和平”信仰为名，娶了、强奸及杀害儿童，还要把他们的“宗教权利”带到美国来。你们猜怎么着？我们那可悲的、没骨气的政治正确政府会让他们得逞的，否则就是侵犯某人的宗教“权利”或“自由”。所有人，交出你们的枪，把你们的孩子和山羊锁起来。

maikalwolf    on  Mar 10, 9:13 AM  said:  
@Mncookie:  He's not Muslim MN, he's being an idiot!  

他不是穆斯林，他就是装白痴！

maikalwolf    on  Mar 10, 9:22 AM  said:  
@TODD:  He's not being funny or sarcastic. He excersicing his right to stupidity! This article, which you both want to ignore, is about American children being forced into marriages right here in the US. These are Roman Catholic/Protestant/ Baptist adults forcing their girls into these marriages! Oh and lets not forget Mormons! Well how about that, all sects of the Christian faith! I would have never guessed such a moral religious community would stand for something like this. Why I believe its in their holy book with example of how evil it is...Oh wait, it's not!  

他不是在搞笑或讽刺，而是把自己的权利用在了愚蠢的地方！你们都忽视了，本文讲的是美国儿童在美国本地接受强制婚姻的事。是那些罗马天主教徒、新教徒、再洗礼派的成年人强迫他们的女孩去结婚！哦，别忘了还有摩门教徒！怎么样啊？这可都是基督教教派！我绝不会猜想这些有道德的宗教社团会为此类事张目，因为我相信他们的圣书里有例子来说明这种事有多邪恶……哦不，没有！

TODD   on  Mar 10, 11:18 AM  said:  
@maikalwolf:  Well no shit, Sherlock... I was merely pointing out HIS reference, and the importance of it, and how it IS a problem like, and even worse, than that which is going on here. I certainly did read the article, and find it abhorrent in nature, never mind how the hell it ever gets approved by a judge. I don't care what religion or faith you're of, children are NOT adults; not mentally, physically or legally.  

好了别闹，大侦探……我不过是指出了他提及的是什么，有多重要，会有什么问题，以及事情正在如何发展。我当然看了文章，本能地感到恶心，更别提这些事居然能得到法官批准了。我不在乎你的宗教信仰是什么，儿童无论在心理、生理或法律上，都不是成年人。

Heathen   on  Mar 10, 11:59 AM  said:  
@TODD:  @TODD, these laws were made by a "Christian" nation according to conservatives. Look and see how long the laws were on the books and you'll see that it was Christians who wanted these laws to cover up their sin. Check you morality, I doubt you'll find it.  

保守派说了，这些法律是由一个“基督教”国家制订的。去看看在书里这些法律存在了多久，你就会知道这是基督徒为了掩盖他们的原罪而制订的法律。深入你的道德观，你就明白了。

TODD   on  Mar 10, 4:12 PM  said:  
@Heathen:  Check my morality? WTF is that supposed to mean? I don't disagree with you, and find ANY religious fanaticism to be the crux of so many evils, Christianity certainly not excluded!  

深入我的道德观？这你妹的啥意思？我不同意你。我认为任何宗教的狂热信徒都是造成世上如此多邪恶的原因，基督教也不例外！

MargretWhite   on  Mar 10, 5:12 PM  said:  
@TODD:  Seems we already do the same thing! Did you not READ the article! 13 year old girls marring men TWICE their age!  

似乎我们也干了同样的事！你没看文章吗！13岁的女孩嫁给了比她大一倍的人！

KCRob   on  Mar 9, 9:28 PM  said:  
“Child pregnancy should trigger alarm bells, not wedding bells...” 
A past Kansas DA thought something similar and got his you-know-what in the ringer. He posited that when young girls undergo an abortion that there may be a case of statutory rape behind it. But since it was abortion, not marriage, he was the bad guy.  

“儿童怀孕应该敲响警钟，而不是婚钟……”
曾经有位堪萨斯州地区检察官也有类似想法，但没落什么好下场。他假定一名年轻女孩如果有堕胎，那么背后一定隐藏着强奸。不过因为这是堕胎而不是婚姻，他就成了坏人。

JosephTheStarfish   on  Mar 10, 7:59 AM  said:  
@KCRob:  "Child Pregnancy" is impossible. Children, by definition, can't get pregnant. The ability to reproduce is what defines adulthood. Or wait, did you think an arbitrary number cooked up by the state defined who is and isn't adult?  

“儿童怀孕”是不可能的。从定义上讲，儿童是不能怀孕的。繁殖能力就是用来定义成年的。哦等等，你不会认为由各州自行定个年龄，就能定义谁是不是成年人吧？

Razpootina   on  Mar 10, 8:16 AM  said:  
@JosephTheStarfish:  Morals and decency dictate age of consent as it relates to sex/marriage you pervert; and no, you can't pork your under age cousin in your doublewide Joseph.  

道德与正派决定了与性或婚姻有关的年龄许可，你个变态；不，你不能干你的低龄表妹。

JosephTheStarfish   on  Mar 10, 8:22 AM  said:  
@Razpootina:  "Morals" and "decency". Whose morals? What decency? My morals come from the Bible, which says that if a man has sex with a woman he should marry her. What "morals" is your arbitrary 18-year-old age of consent based on.
But nevermind the facts. You've got insults to hurl.  

“道德”和“正派”。谁的道德？什么正派？我的道德来自圣经，上面说如果一个男人和女人性交，他就该娶她。你那18岁才能得到许可的数字是依据什么“道德”得出来的？
别管事实了，你不就想着侮辱人吗？

swan.feather   on  Mar 10, 8:54 AM  said:  
@JosephTheStarfish:  I had a cousin that was five years old and started sexually maturing. Her mother noticed that her daughter was developing breasts and pubic hair and took her to the doctor. He said it can and does happen. I can't remember what they did to stop it and, I believe, reverse it.
So, according to your "theory", my cousin should have been allowed to get married at five just because her body was maturing faster than she was? Really?
You sound like a pedophile.  

我的表妹5岁的时候就出现性成熟。她母亲发现自己的女儿胸部在发育，还长出了阴毛，就带她去看医生。医生说这种事是会有的。他们怎么中止或逆转了这个发育，我已经不记得了。
那么根据你的“理论”，我表妹在5岁时就该被允许结婚，只因为她的身体过早成熟？是吗？
你就像个恋童癖。

SMH   on  Mar 10, 9:02 AM  said:  
@JosephTheStarfish:  Spoken like a true pedophile.  

说起话来就像个真正的恋童癖。

someoneelseiscaleb   on  Mar 9, 11:29 PM  said:  
so a girl can get an abortion at 14 without any parental knowledge but she can not get married until she is 18 even with parental consent. Sorry but I am thinking of a girl I went to high school with who was dating a guy 2 years older than her, he knew he was going into the army so her parents let her take summer school and graduate a year early and marry him at 17. Its a good thing because he has spent so much time in the sandbox. They have been married 13 o 14 years now. Out of all the people I know who got married young I only know 1 who got divorced and that was because she dropped out of high school to marry him because she was mad her parents were getting divorced. She was 18 at the time. Just my 2 cents but if your attitude is that teens are going to have sex then why is it wrong to let them marry first?  

这么说，女孩可以在14岁的时候瞒着父母堕胎，但却不能在有父母许可的情况下，在18岁前结婚？我想起了上高中的时候一个女孩的事，她和一名大她两岁的男子约会。他要入伍，所以她父母就让她上了夏校，得以提前一年毕业，在17岁的时候嫁给了他。这是个好事，毕竟他花了太多时间在沙箱里。如今，他们已经结婚13还是14年了。在我知道的早婚者中，只有1人离婚，因为她父母离婚，她就愤而高中退学嫁了个人，那时她已经18岁了。如果你的观点就是青少年会有性，那么干嘛不让他们先结婚？

jae.pea.1217    on  Mar 10, 12:12 AM  said:  
@someoneelseiscaleb:  Are you kidding? Sex is a HORRIBLE reason to get married!  

你在开玩笑吗？性是结婚的一个糟糕的理由！

JosephTheStarfish   on  Mar 10, 8:01 AM  said:  
@jae.pea.1217:  SEX IS THE REASON FOR MARRIAGE. My God, what has happened to society?!  

性就是结婚的理由。天啊，这个社会怎么了？！

Razpootina   on  Mar 10, 8:25 AM  said:  
@someoneelseiscaleb:  Clearly you are confused someoneelses, abortion and teen marriage are two different issues. And no you can't have sex with a minor, so stop it.  

显然你弄错了，堕胎和青少年结婚是两个不同的问题。不，你不能和未成年人性交，别再干了。

maikalwolf    on  Mar 10, 9:28 AM  said:  
@JosephTheStarfish:  Christian fundamentalism!  

基督教原教旨主义！

Blanche Quizno   on  Mar 10, 12:10 AM  said:  
When we left North Carolina in early 2001, the legislature was just about to review laws on the books that allowed girls as young as 12 and 13 (with their parents' approval) to marry older men, provided the girls in question were pregnant by these older men or already had children by them. There's no such thing as rape, in other words.  

当我们2001年初离开北卡罗来纳州的时候，立法机构正审议法律，允许低至12岁到13岁的女孩（在其父母批准下）嫁给更大的男子，所涉及的女孩都是被这些男子弄怀孕或是已经生下孩子的。换句话说，不存在什么强奸的事。

jae.pea.1217    on  Mar 10, 12:11 AM  said:  
I have no problem with polygamy as long as everyone involved is a consenting adult. Little girls who have been brainwashed since birth that they must marry old farts twice their age or burn in hell, are NOT consenting adults. They are exploited children.  

只要是自愿的成年人，我对复婚制没意见。小女孩从小就被洗脑说该嫁给大自己一倍的老古董，否则就会被在地狱里烧，这可不是自愿的成年人。她们是被剥削的儿童。

Redbaron719    on  Mar 10, 4:33 AM  said:  
Just about everything concerning our age of consent laws is illogical and borders on the ludicrously inconsistent. Did you know that back in 1880 the age if consent in Delaware was 7? A few states had it at age 12; most had age 10. By 1920, Georgia had the minimum age of consent at 14, most states were at 16 and some few at 18. By 2007, Colorado stood at 15 for age of consent, 8 states at 18 and the rest were a hodgepodge of 16 and 17. Why the differences? Were kids in 1880 that much more mature, or were we a nation of pedophiles? Is there anything unusual today about young folks in Colorado? Why all the differences, PROVIDED any of the legislatures have a clue what they are legislating? And then. why all the exceptions above among the various states when marriage after the fact gets thrown into the mix? And, calling (mostly female) teens barely under the age of consent "children"? Seriously? You want to equate, say, a nubile 17 year old Lolita with a garden variety 9 year old girl? Or fail to differentiate between a 6 foot, 195 pound 16 year old linebacker on a high school football squad and a skinny 10 year old boy?
Be logical and face it. We're psychotic on a national level over many aspects having to do with sex. It's silly and wasteful and needs to stop. No one chronological age could possibly be a "correct age" for consent to have sex, anyway. Children mature at different rates. Humans engage in sex for any number of reasons that arbitrary laws aren't going to change. Attempting to legislate morals, or common sense is a complete waste of time, effort and $. When will we ever learn?
What about declaring individual puberty as the age of consent and getting the governments and DA's out of our sex lives once and for all. We have many more important matters to attend to in 2016 America than what really boil down to trivial infractions of age of consent laws, that themselves are a mockery of blind justice and even-handed jurisprudence.  

所有这些有关合法年龄的讨论都没有逻辑、尺度也极不一致。你们知道在1880年代，特拉华州的年龄许可是7岁吗？一些州的年龄是12岁，大部分是10岁。到了1920年代，乔治亚州的最低许可年龄是14岁，大部分州是16岁，部分是18岁。而在2007年，科罗拉多州坚持许可年龄是15岁，8个州是18岁，其它州是16岁到17岁不等。为何不同？1880年代的孩子非常成熟吗，还是我们那时是个恋童癖国家？今天，科罗拉多州的年轻人有什么特别的吗？为何都不同，这些立法机构对它们的立法过程心里有没有数？还有，为何在婚姻特例上，那些不同州反倒都差不多？称低于许可年龄的青少年（主要是女性）为“儿童”？真的吗？你们真的想将一名17岁性感洛丽塔和一名9岁的平凡女孩相提并论？或者无法区分一名6英尺、195磅重的高中橄榄球队后卫，和一名干瘦的10岁男孩？
讲点逻辑，直面面对。涉及到性的时候，我们是国家级的全方位神经病。这很蠢、没用，不能继续这样下去了。反正没人的生理年龄是性行为的“适当年龄”。儿童性成熟有快有慢。人们无论以何种理由在某些年纪开始性行为，法律都不会有什么改变。尝试将道德或常识法律化，只能是浪费时间、精力和金钱。能学乖点儿吗？
何不宣布个人的青春期就是适当年龄呢？让政府啊、检察官啊什么的永远滚出我们的性生活。在2016年的美国，我们有太多比这根本是微不足道的适龄法律问题更重要的事要关注，简直是对公正和平等的嘲弄。

Janeway   on  Mar 10, 7:38 AM  said:  
@Redbaron719:  Right. Like the important fact that 100,000, at least, American children are trafficked each year. I guess that isn't imoortant for you? I strongly suspect you're a pedophile, since I reckognize your arguments from debates in the 1980's. I hope some 3-letter group attached to the Government check you out. Soon.  

是啊。要关注的重要事情嘛，比如每年美国至少有10万儿童贩卖。这对你来说是不是不够重要啊？一看到你那些1980年代的论调，我就开始强烈怀疑你是个恋童癖。我希望某个3个字母的政府尽快来调查你。

Joe Nitro   on  Mar 10, 8:37 AM  said:  
@Janeway:  Or a catholic priest  

也许是个天主教传教士。

Redbaron719    on  Mar 10, 1:41 PM  said:  
@Janeway:  Whoa, J! Nice job of changing the subject from the above stated topic and accusing someone you don't know a thing about of a serious crime, all in what, 4 lines of text? Do you even know what sex trafficking is? Let me disabuse you with a cut and paste straight from 22 USC 7102: Sex trafficking
means the recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, obtaining, patronizing, or soliciting of a person for the purpose of a commercial sex act. Oh and BTW, official govt sources claim there are 300,000 victims (still) alive in the US as I type Try actually reading what I wrote, noticing that nowhere did I mention, advocate or defend sex trafficking. Furthermore, along the way in the normal course of my life which has not ever included pedophilia by any definition, not one, but several govt alphabets have checked me out thoroughly finding bupkis. So, I gotta wonder, could YOU be projecting elements of your personality onto mine? Maybe the govt alphabets ought to be checking YOU out.  

哇，J！偷换主题、指责你完全不了解的某人有什么严重罪行，干得漂亮啊。4行字就搞定了？你知道性贩卖是怎么回事吗？让我来给你解惑吧，直接从22 USC 7102法典中复制给你：性贩卖，指以商业性行为为目的的招募、藏匿、转运、供应、流通、拉拢人的行为。顺便说一句，政府官方来源称在美国有30万还活着的受害者。仔细看看我的文字，我从未提倡或为性贩卖辩解。此外，在我平凡的一生中从未被以任何方式看作是恋童癖，某些政府字母部门查过我几次，结果啥也没有。我倒是怀疑啊，你是不是把你个性中的某些东西投射到我身上了？也许政府字母部门该查查你。

Redbaron719    on  Mar 10, 1:51 PM  said:  
@Joe Nitro:  That's funny, JN. Also, very off topic. Whatever. For the record, I am not now, nor have I ever been a catholic priest. Nor, am I ever likely to be. Once long ago, before I became a recovering Calvinist, I was the youngest deacon my Presbyterian church ever elected at age 18. Does that count for anything among your twisted allegations?  

很搞笑嘛，JN，而且是离题万里。不过明白地说吧，我不是、也从不是一个天主教传教士，相去甚远。在我成为回归派加尔文教徒前，我18岁的时候，一度是长老教会选出的最年轻的执事。这算不算符合你那扭曲的指控？

Kathy Kalb   on  Mar 10, 6:17 AM  said:  
I think we should make a law against Muslims having four wives! The Syrian refugees they want to bring here believe in young brides, 40 something men with 12 yr old girls or younger!  

我认为我们该制订法律禁止穆斯林拥有4个妻子！叙利亚难民来了，喜欢年轻新娘，40岁的男人配12岁甚至更小的女孩！

blakely   on  Mar 10, 6:20 AM  said:  
so what will the jews do now that child marriage is outlawed. West Virginia he last state that a jew could get a wife.  

童婚被禁止的话，犹太人怎么办啊？西弗吉尼亚州可是最后一个能让犹太人这么搞到老婆的地方。

charles.martel.750331    on  Mar 10, 6:30 AM  said:  
why stop at 16? why not 3 years old? since its muslims who are pushing these islamic sharia laws..  

干嘛定在16岁？干嘛不是3岁？穆斯林不是已经在推行他们的伊斯兰教法了吗？

savage393    on  Mar 10, 7:03 AM  said:  
@charles.martel.750331:  Your a F-n mental case. these laws have been on the books in these states, before you were even a gleam in your daddy's eye. this has NOTHING to do with Muslims or sharia law. if that's your real picture, I'll bet you gene pool only has 4 people in it. Your mother, your sister, and your first cousin.  

你个白痴。在你父亲看到你之前，这些法律在各州就已经成文了。这和穆斯林或伊斯兰教法毫无关系。如果你真是这么想的，我猜你的基因池里只有4个人：你母亲、你姐姐和你的表妹。

chris.sievert1    on  Mar 10, 7:11 AM  said:  
@charles.martel.750331:  Colonial America ranged from a High of 12 to a low of 8 years old to Consent to marriage AND Sex. You know, Christian Law.  

殖民时代的美洲，结婚和性行为的许可年龄上至12岁，下至8岁。基督教法律，你懂的。

Jenfinn   on  Mar 10, 10:31 AM  said:  
@chris.sievert1:  Life expectancy in Colonial America was 25 to 30 years. Do the math.  

殖民时代的美洲，预期寿命是25到30年，自己算。

CharlieK   on  Mar 10, 6:49 AM  said:  
Hmm...
Is this a change that would make the life better?  

嗯……
这是个会让我们生活得更好的改变吗？