Our Opinion: Missouri’s about to lose part of its reputation — and that’s a good thing

We’re pleased to see that, as of Aug. 28, Missouri will shed its reputation for being the easiest state in the nation for children to get married.

Last week, Gov. Mike Parson signed legislation raising the marriage age in Missouri from 15 to 16 and requiring parental permission for older teenagers to marry.

The Associated Press reported the bill was among the last bills signed or vetoed by Parson, who faced a constitutional deadline on Saturday to do so.

The new marriage law, which will take effect Aug. 28, continues the state requirement that 16- and 17-year-olds receive parental permission to be married and bars someone 21 or older from marrying anyone 17 or younger.

“This is a huge victory in our effort to protect young people and end the state’s reputation as the easiest place in the country for a 15-year-old to be married,” Republican Rep. Jean Evans, of Manchester in St. Louis County, said in a written statement. Evans had pushed for the measure in the House.

The Legislature approved the bill overwhelmingly, but some lawmakers had said raising the marriage age infringes on parents’ rights, the AP reported.

We don’t take interfering with parental rights lightly. Parents generally should have the freedom to raise their children the way they see fit. But, just like with property rights, there should be minimum standards.

That law will let people convicted of some sex crimes to be removed from the sex offender registry and repeals the statute of limitations for prosecuting sex crimes against children, the AP reported.

The Kansas City Star previously reported from 1999-2015, more than 1,000 15-year-olds in Missouri were married. The newspaper’s review showed those marriages included more than 300 married men age 21 or older, with some in their 30s, 40s and 50s. The paper said, assuming they had premarital sex, those grooms would be considered rapists — because Missouri law states a sexual relationship between someone 21 or older and someone under 17 is second-degree statutory rape.

Some of the marriages reportedly have been coerced, in some cases by a parent after the girl became pregnant.

We previously pushed for passage of this bill, and we applaud the Legislature for approving it and Parson for signing it.

News Tribune