Louisiana now has a minimum age for marriage in the state. The new law that goes into effect today sets the age at 16. During discussion by lawmakers, the age limit for marriage received pushback from GOP lawmakers saying it puts a roadblock in front of marriage in the event of teenage pregnancy. President of the Louisiana Family Forum Gene Mills was among those in opposition to an age limit.
“It’s in a better posture than it was when it was originally proposed. The original proposal came with a prohibition under 18,” said Mills.
Those in favor of the age limit insisted that the law would be a step toward combatting human trafficking, adding many of those involved with the crime will use marriage to cloak the activity. Mills does not see the business logic in using marriage in that manner.
“Most traffickers don’t try to marry their victims. It’s a business model and that doesn’t make for a great business model. Or so I’m told, I’m not a subject matter expert in this area,” said Mills.
Mills says the new law still gets in the way of having a child being born into a proper family setting with the lack of traditional marriage.
“In some cases, you have a mature 15-year-old, some times a mature young man as well, and in those cases, marriage ought not to be implicated in an effort to stop trafficking. This isn’t a form of trafficking,” said Mills.
