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 Judge Upholds Arkansas Law Allowing
Opposite-Sex Toddlers To Wed
by 365Gay.com Newscenter Staff
Posted: October 11, 2007 - 5:00 pm ET
(Little Rock, Arkansas) An inadvertently added
word in a law passed earlier this year and unnoticed when it was signed into law
by Gov. Mike Beebe is the law of the state a judge has ruled.
Only the legislature can change it, Circuit Judge Tom J. Keith ruled.
The legislation was intended to establish 18 as
the minimum age to marry but also allow pregnant teenagers to marry with
parental consent.
An extraneous "not" in the bill,
however, allows anyone who is not pregnant to marry at any age if the parents
allow it.
The law reads: "In order for a person who is
younger than eighteen (18) years of age and who is not pregnant to obtain a
marriage license, the person must provide the county clerk with evidence of
parental consent to the marriage."
A code revision commission - which fixes
typographical and technical errors in laws - had tried to correct the mistake,
but a group of legislators said the commission went beyond its powers.
Judge Keith agreed.
Beebe's office said Thursday that the governor was reviewing the
ruling but did not have any plans to call a special session to correct the error.
The Legislature formally adjourned its session in
May and is not scheduled to meet again until January 2009.
Attorney General Dustin McDaniel said he was not surprised
by the ruling but did
not say whether he believed lawmakers should correct the error before the 2009
legislative session.
"It's clearly not the intent to allow
10-year-olds or 11-year-olds to get married," said the law's bill sponsor
Rep. Will Bond. "The legislation was screwed up."
Although the law does not specifically exclude
same-sex pairs, Arkansas' constitutional amendment limiting marriage to
opposite-sex couples would apply.
Meanwhile, a conservative Christian group that
promoted the gay marriage ban has been given the green light to start collecting
signatures for a voter initiative to bar gays and lesbians from adopting
children or serving as foster parents in Arkansas.
The measure also would prevent unmarried
opposite-sex couples living together from a adopting or fostering. (story)
©365Gay.com 2007
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