A Utah lawmaker has drafted a bill to block people from crossing the state border with the intention of conducting an illegal, underage marriage.
Representative Melissa Garff Ballard’s House Bill 103 would criminalise unlawfully marrying a minor, travelling out of state to marry a minor and transporting a minor for an illegal marriage.
However, the bill has put Ballard on a collision course with local religious groups, where underage marriages have been a problem. The Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter-Day Saints was one such group accused of conducting illegal marriages with minors.
Despite opposition, Ballard has insisted the bill must pass.
“We have report after report of Utah being the crossroads of drugs, human trafficking, sex trafficking, and right now with social media. It’s so prevalent with individuals coercing minors to get married or to ‘meet me, and we’ll get married so that you can come and get away from your families,’” she told Fox 13. “And it’s very manipulative.”
Current marriage laws in Utah require anyone planning to marry to be at least 16 years old, and anyone under 18 must have parental permission to wed. The Mormon Church also says on its website that it discourages any relationships below the age of 16, as well as polygamous marriages.
However, breakaway sects, including the FLDS, have long been investigated for facilitating illegal, polygamous child marriages.
Warren Jeffs, the current president of the FLDS, was convicted of child sex offences after he was found to have presided over several child marriages in Colorado City, Arizona, according to the FBI.
Several mothers are still searching for their children to this day and have expressed concerns that they could be trapped inside illegal marriages organized by the FLDS.
Elizabeth Roundy, a former member of the FLDS, told Fox 13 that she has not seen her children in years after they seemingly returned to the group. She said that she worries about her daughter being lured into an underage wedding.
“I just don’t want her to get married young or to get in a bad situation where she’s not treated right or with respect or something terrible happens to her like some of those creepy revelations Warren talks about,” Roundy said.
Ballard says that her bill will not change existing state marriage laws, but instead crack down on crimes such as the ones committed by Jeffs.
“This is really to say we do not want you in Utah to violate Utah marriage laws or try to go around them by just taking a minor out of state and then returning,” Rep. Ballard said. “We do not want you to take advantage of minors in our state, child trafficking, sex trafficking, and we want to help protect them.”
Ballard’s bill will be considered when the Utah State Legislature meets next week. However, the representative says that she is already receiving support from local groups.
“I’m really grateful that people are taking the initiative and trying to help us out, and it’s my hope and prayer it’ll help to protect all our young children from all these underage marriages that are illegal and terrible,” she said.
The Independent has contacted Ballard for comment.
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