歪歪漫画

PIERRE 鈥� A 1930s-era law that sets the minimum age to be married at 16 in South Dakota will remain unchanged following a divided vote Monday that crossed party lines.

The House State Affairs Committee voted 8-5 Monday, Jan. 29 to kill legislation that would have raised the minimum age of marriage to 18. Sponsored by Rep. Kadyn Wittman, the Sioux Falls Democrat called the legislation 鈥渃rucial鈥� to protecting minor girls from exploitation. From 2000 to 2020, 838 minors 鈥� ages 16 and 17 鈥� were married.

鈥淚 have to tell you, I was shocked when I discovered this on our books last year,鈥� Wittman said.

Although the law requires minors to have parental consent to wed, Wittman argued that some cultural and societal pressures could undercut what is best for a child.

North Dakota鈥檚 law is similar to South Dakota in that 16- and 17-year-olds must have consent, but the parent also must be present at signing. Minnesota removed its parental consent provisions in 2020, making the minimum age 18.

Wittman was supported by Yvonne Taylor, who represented the South Dakota Advocacy Network for Women. Taylor called it 鈥渃ommon sense鈥� to defer marriage to the age of maturity, noting that society doesn鈥檛 allow people under 21 to drink beer.

But Norman Woods, who represented Family Voice Action, said his organization had three concerns with the proposal. First, it presented marriage as the problem. In situations where there鈥檚 an abusive relationship, the abuse is the problem, not marriage, he noted.

Woods also objected to the notion that parents can鈥檛 protect their children, while also arguing that raising the age to marry while keeping the age of consent at 16 would encourage out-of-wedlock sex.

While calling Wittman鈥檚 efforts 鈥渘oble,鈥� Woods said there should be exceptions where a couple of 19 and 17 had an unplanned pregnancy.

鈥淚t shouldn鈥檛 be common for a 16-year-old or 17-year-old to get married,鈥� he said.

Wittman said she was 鈥渄isturbed鈥� by the notion of conflating marriage and sex, saying a girl who is pregnant should be protected and not married off to the man who impregnated her.

She also questioned whether young people are mature enough to make such a profound decision early in life.

鈥淕od help me if I had married the person I thought I loved when I was 16,鈥� she said.

Wittman was backed by fellow Democrat, House Minority Leader Oren Lesmeister when debate shifted to the committee. Speaking in front of an audience that included a couple dozen higher education students, the West River rancher apologized, but said he didn鈥檛 think 16-year-olds today are as mature as they were a few decades ago.

Rep. Jon Hansen, R-Dell Rapids, questioned Wittman on why she didn鈥檛 focus on the age of consent, rather than marriage. He asked Wittman why it wouldn鈥檛 be appropriate for a 19-year-old to marry a 17-year-old in a situation involving a pregnancy.

Wittman responded that there was no reason a couple couldn鈥檛 鈥減ush pause鈥� for a year.

鈥淚 do not think it is ever OK for anyone under the age of 18 to ever get married,鈥� she said.

But Rep. Gary Cammack, R-Union Center, said he felt the parental consent requirement was an appropriate safeguard. While the legislation was well intended, he said there should be room for exceptions.

鈥淚 have a little personal experience,鈥� Cammack said. 鈥淢y bride of 52 years was 17 when we got married.鈥� That marriage has produced four sons and 10 grandchildren.

Rep. Becky Drury, a Rapid City Republican, said she supported the bill because its intent was to protect children from exploitation. She noted that parents who agree to a marriage give up parental rights because their child is emancipated.

鈥淚 can鈥檛 imagine a better way to protect young kids 鈥� young mothers 鈥� than to give them some guardrails until they reach the age of maturity,鈥� she said.

Committee Chairman and House Majority Leader Will Mortenson, R-Fort Pierre, ended the debate with an argument that marriage should be encouraged, not discouraged. He dismissed the argument that there are age limits on alcohol and tobacco, because those are bad for people. Marriage, he said, is good for people.

While marriage rates are declining, surveys show that married couples are happier. And data show that children who grow up in married households enjoy better academic success and future earnings.

鈥淭hose are good things for society,鈥� he said.

鈥淚 think we need to celebrate marriage.鈥�

This story was originally published on TheDakotaScout.com.