When she was a scrawny 11-year-old, Sherry Johnson found out one day that she was about to be married to a 20-year-old member of her church who had raped her.
“It was forced on me,” she recalls. She had become pregnant, she says, and child welfare authorities were investigating — so her family and church officials decided the simplest way to avoid a messy criminal case was to organize a wedding.
“My mom asked me if I wanted to get married, and I said, ‘I don’t know, what is marriage, how do I act like a wife?’” Johnson remembers today, many years later. “She said, ‘Well, I guess you’re just going to get married.’”
So she was. A government clerk in Tampa, Fla., refused to marry an 11-year-old, even though this was legal in the state, so the wedding party went to nearby Pinellas County, where the clerk issued a marriage license. The license (which I’ve examined) lists her birth date, so officials were aware of her age.
If you are groped by a congressman, blow the whistle, and his identity will be kept private while the taxpayers will pay you off. If it is a Democrat, notify the ethics committee, if it is a Republican, you’ll have to donate to his re-election campaign. That is the only way to keep equivalent.
Silly Season over 6 years ago
Or…
Get married:
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/26/opinion/sunday/it-was-forced-on-me-child-marriage-in-the-us.html
When she was a scrawny 11-year-old, Sherry Johnson found out one day that she was about to be married to a 20-year-old member of her church who had raped her.
“It was forced on me,” she recalls. She had become pregnant, she says, and child welfare authorities were investigating — so her family and church officials decided the simplest way to avoid a messy criminal case was to organize a wedding.
“My mom asked me if I wanted to get married, and I said, ‘I don’t know, what is marriage, how do I act like a wife?’” Johnson remembers today, many years later. “She said, ‘Well, I guess you’re just going to get married.’”
So she was. A government clerk in Tampa, Fla., refused to marry an 11-year-old, even though this was legal in the state, so the wedding party went to nearby Pinellas County, where the clerk issued a marriage license. The license (which I’ve examined) lists her birth date, so officials were aware of her age.
Addled Brain over 6 years ago
“When she was a scrawny 11-year-old … ‘It [marriage] was forced on me,’ she recalls.”
This sounds third-world-ish. Is this really in the US ? It must be the Christian Taliban.
Mr. Blawt over 6 years ago
If you are groped by a congressman, blow the whistle, and his identity will be kept private while the taxpayers will pay you off. If it is a Democrat, notify the ethics committee, if it is a Republican, you’ll have to donate to his re-election campaign. That is the only way to keep equivalent.