Honestly Reddit just hates any state that isn't Cali, Washington, Colorado, or New York because everywhere else is just too conservative. The anti "south" circlejerk on Reddit is insane. And I put south in quotes because anyone who has actually ever BEEN to Virginia knows that most of the populations lives in urban areas that are as far from "southern" cities as possible.I live here. You're right, the urban areas make up much of the population, but drive 20 min outside of any city (NOVA partially excepted) and you will hit the South real quick.
I grew up in Ohio and every year Arab and Muslim girls would disappear from school. I found out that they got married and had kids while still in high school. Their parents were sending them back home and marrying them off to old men.Pretty disturbing that one of the stipulations for 12 or 13 year olds to get married is that they must be pregnant. If their groom to be is over 18, not only should they be unable to be married (they are way too young), but the man should be incarcerated for statutory rape. At least VA is taking some steps to rectify their fucked up laws.
It's an outdated law, which these days was used as a loophole for abuse. Some time in the past a marriage age of 13 was once a new law, freshly debated by the legislators doing what made sense in their world. Women had fewer options, loss of virginity was seen as a loss of value, and getting married with children too soon was thought better than being shunned without any financial support. Things have radically changed for the better in living memory. One of the current Virginia legislators noted her own grandmother had married at age 14 in 1900.
My wife's parents wanted to get married in 1944, but the law in Washington State prohibited them from marrying unless both persons were over 18. They drove to Idaho, which allowed girls to marry at 16, but then had to hide their marriage from their families and the school authorities. When she became pregnant and began to show, she was expelled from high school, despite being legally married and a straight-A student. My father-in-law was allowed to continue attending school. He negotiated a deal with the school authorities that she be allowed to stay enrolled and to graduate, if she completed all the school work and assignments at home. The school thought that if they allowed her to continue to attend school that it would "set a bad example" for the other girls, and that there would be an epidemic of teenaged pregnancies because the other girls would be envious that she was having a baby so young.
If I recall correctly, it's due to how much readily-available food, water, shelter etc. The body decides to get things going and pop out a happy baby ASAP in case these circumstances don't last forever. My own mother was married at 15 because my dad knocked her up (he was 18) and that was the 80s. They are an outlier because they are still happily married, but laws really do need to be set up so that these young girls are not getting married so young. Even if no one uses the law they should all be revamped regardless. Even a student fresh out of highschool 17 or 18 has the world stacked against them. I cant even imagine being 15 and on my own/ married raising children.
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