LAWMAKERS IN TENNESSEE HAVE ABANDONED THEIR PLANS TO PROPOSE
AND PASS LEGISLATION THAT WOULD OUTLAW CHILD MARRIAGES IN THEIR
STATE.
YOU HEARD THAT CORRECTLY, CHILD MARRIAGES OCCUR NOT ONLY
IN TENNESSEE, IN THE UNITED STATES, BUT IT'S PARTICULARLY
BAD IN TENNESSEE.
IN FACT A RECENT INVESTIGATION FOUND THAT
--
SO UNDERSTANDABLY LAWMAKERS IN THE STATE REALIZED THERE WAS
AN ISSUE HERE.
NOW, THERE ARE LAWS AGAINST CHILD MARRIAGES BUT
THERE ARE ALL SORTS OF LOOPHOLES PEOPLE WERE TAKING ADVANTAGE OF.
FOR INSTANCE A JUDGE COULD INTERVENE AND ALLOW UNDERAGE
PEOPLE TO GET MARRIED, PARENTS COULD GET INVOLVED AND SAY THAT
THEY ALLOW THEIR 10-YEAR-OLD DAUGHTER TO MARRY A MAN WHO IS
IN HIS 30S, AND SO THEY WANTED TO CLOSE THESE LOOPHOLES.
BUT
THEN, ANOTHER CONSERVATIVE ORGANIZATION GETS INVOLVED AND
THEY STOP IT BECAUSE THEY WERE WORRIED THAT THIS LEGISLATION,
IF IT PASSED INTO LAW, WOULD DO AWAY WITH THEIR EFFORTS, OR AT
LEAST PUT THEIR EFFORTS, TO OUTLAW GAY MARRIAGE IN JEOPARDY.
SO IN THEIR VIEW, GAY MARRIAGE IS MUCH WORSE THAN 10-YEAR-OLDS
MARRYING PEOPLE IN THEIR 30S.
LET ME GIVE YOU MORE DETAILS --
AND THIS IS WHERE THINGS START TO GET PRETTY SHADY --
NOW, DAVID FOWLER IS THE INDIVIDUAL WHO WANTS TO OUTLAW
SAME-SEX MARRIAGE IN THE STATE OF TENNESSEE, AND HE IS THE ONE
WHO EMAILED THE HOUSE MAJORITY LEADER AND CONVINCED HIM HOW
ABOUT WE PUSH THIS BILL INTO THIS SUMMER STUDY SESSION, WHICH
ESSENTIALLY KILLS THE BILL.
IT'S LIKE A GAP YEAR, IT TAKES A YEAR TO GO FIND ITSELF.
BECAUSE OF WOLF PAC I KNOW ALL ABOUT HOW THEY KILL BILLS,
AND THE NUMBER ONE WAY IS, WE WILL CONSIDER IT LATER.
WHICH
MEANS WE ARE DONE WITH IT, WE AREN'T CONSIDERING IT.
SO SUMMER
STUDY MEANS WE KILLED THE BILL, IT'S DONE.
SO WHAT IS FOWLER'S REASONING, HIS LEGAL THEORY BEHIND KILLING
THIS BILL?
AND WHY WOULD THAT BILL NEGATIVELY IMPACT HIS
EFFORTS TO OUTLAW SAME SEX
MARRIAGE?
WELL --
LOOK, I'M NOT A LAWYER AND I'M NOT PRIVY TO THE LAWS AND SO I
FEEL UNCOMFORTABLE COMMENTING ON THAT, WHETHER OR NOT THAT LEGAL
THEORY IS ACCURATE, BUT WHAT I WILL SAY, AND THIS IS SOMETHING
THAT IS KNOWN, IS THAT THEY GENUINELY THINK SAME-SEX
MARRIAGE IS WORSE THAN KIDS GETTING PRESSURED AND FORCED
INTO MARRIAGE, WHICH IS WHAT IS HAPPENING HERE. 10-YEAR-OLD
GIRLS DON'T HAVE THE ABILITY TO CONSENT TO MARRYING SOME
31-YEAR-OLD DUDE.
LISTEN, SOME PEOPLE BELIEVE IN THEIR HEART OF HEARTS AND
THROUGH SOME OF THEIR RELIGIOUS CONVICTIONS THAT MARRIAGE IS
SIMPLY THE UNION OF ONE MAN AND ONE CHILD.
BY THE WAY, THAT IS LITERAL, AND THERE ARE A LOT OF EXAMPLES
IN THE BIBLE.
THEY AREN'T THAT FAR OFF.
WHICH GETS ME TO MY
POINT THAT SOME MIGHT CONSIDER CONTROVERSIAL.
YEAH THEY CARE
MORE ABOUT THE ISSUE OF GAY RIGHTS AND TAKING AWAY
GAY RIGHTS, AND THAT'S A GOOD WAY OF FRAMING IT, ANA, BUT I
ACTUALLY THINK THEY DON'T MIND CHILD MARRIAGE.
THEY THINK IT'S
PART OF THEIR CULTURE.
THAT IS A CONSERVATIVE THING.
I DON'T WANT
ANYONE GETTING ME WRONG, I'M NOT SAYING EVERY CONSERVATIVE IN THE
COUNTRY, A CONSERVATIVE FROM CALIFORNIA THINKS IT'S AWESOME
FOR 10-YEAR-OLDS TO MARRY 30-YEAR-OLDS.
NO.
WHAT I'M
SAYING THERE ARE SOME PEOPLE IN TENNESSEE, KENTUCKY, SOME STATES
WHERE THIS IS BEING DISCUSSED, WHO GOT MARRIED WHEN THEY WERE
13, WHO HAVE A TRADITION AND A CULTURE OF GETTING MARRIED VERY
YOUNG AND THAT WAS INTERTWINED WITH THEIR RELIGIOUS VIEWS OF
THE WORLD, SO I THINK THEY JUST FLAT OUT DON'T WANT TO GET RID
OF THE LAW.
WHAT IS ONE OF THE COMMON SMEARS THAT WE HEARD FROM THE
RIGHT WING WHEN IT CAME TO THE PROHIBITION OF SAME-SEX
MARRIAGE?
WHAT WAS A COMMON SMEAR THAT GAY PEOPLE HAD TO
DEAL WITH?
THAT THEY WERE GOING TO GO AFTER THE KIDS.
THAT THEY WOULD BE PEDOPHILES, THAT THEY WERE DISGUSTING -- NO,
YOU ARE THE PEDOPHILES, YOU ARE SUPPORTING THE MARRIAGE OF A
10-YEAR-OLD TO A 31-YEAR-OLD, THAT'S DISGUSTING.
ANOTHER
CLASSIC CASE OF PROJECTION.
AND LOOK, IT'S NOT AN ACCIDENT, AND NOT JUST
POLITICAL, THAT THERE WERE A LOT OF PEOPLE IN ALABAMA THAT
DEFENDED ROY MOORE.
AND IF YOU REMEMBER SOME OF THE DEFENSES
WE QUOTED FROM REPUBLICAN OFFICIALS IN ALABAMA, IT WAS A
LOT OF, WHAT'S THE BIG DEAL?
WHAT, YOU DIDN'T DO THAT?
AGAIN,
NOT ALL CONSERVATIVES, AND I DON'T SAY THAT BECAUSE I'M
POLITICALLY CORRECT, I WILL CALL ALL CONSERVATIVES ALL SORTS OF
NAMES, BUT THERE IS SOME SUBSET OF CONSERVATIVES, ESPECIALLY IN
THAT REGION OF THE COUNTRY, WHO THINK WHAT IS THE BIG DEAL?
AND
IF I WANT THAT, THAT SHOULD BE PART OF MY PRIVILEGE.
AND ANA,
YOU ARE RIGHT, I HADN'T THOUGHT OF IT THAT WAY, THEY SAY GAY
PEOPLE THAN ARE INTERESTED IN YOUNG KIDS.
STATUTORY RATE MEANS SOMEONE UNDER 16 CAN'T GIVE CONSENT, SO
IF YOU ARE MARRIED TO SOMEONE WHO IS 10 YEARS OLD, THAT IS
JUST BY DEFINITION OF LAW RAPE, RIGHT?
IT'S NOT THAT THEY CAN'T GIVE CONSENT, THE PARENTS GIVE
CONSENT.
BUT YOU CAN'T GIVE CONSENT FOR YOUR KID TO HAVE SEX.
YOU CAN GIVE CONSENT FOR YOUR KID TO ENTER INTO MARRIAGE,
AND THAT'S THE LAW AND A LOT OF THESE PLACES.
I THOUGHT THAT WAS AFTER YOU WORK OLD ENOUGH TO CONSENT TO
SEX BUT TOO YOUNG FOR MARRIAGE.
THAT'S THE INSANE PART, JIMMY IS IN A SENSE RIGHT, IN
KENTUCKY, THEY WERE ALSO CONSIDERING A BILL TO END THE
LOOPHOLES TO END CHILD MARRIAGE IN KENTUCKY AND IT ALSO GOT HELD
UP BY RIGHT-WING INTERESTS, THEY CLAIM FOR OTHER REASONS, WE CAN
GET INTO THAT IN A SECOND, I DON'T BELIEVE THEM -- ANYWAY, A
WOMAN IN KENTUCKY WHO WANTS TO COMBAT THIS SAYS, QUOTE, THIS IS
LEGALIZED RAPE OF CHILDREN.
BECAUSE IN THOSE CASES, IF YOU
ARE A 31-YEAR-OLD GUY AND YOU SLEPT WITH A 10-YEAR-OLD IN THE
STATE OF TENNESSEE YOU WOULD GO TO PRISON FOR PROBABLY DECADES,
AS YOU SHOULD.
BUT IF YOU ARE A 31-YEAR-OLD WHO GOT THE
PERMISSION OF HER PARENTS TO MARRY HER AND THEN HAD SEX WITH
HER THAT WOULD BE PERFECTLY LEGAL.
IT'S INSANE.
BY THE WAY, THAT IS THE LAW TODAY IN TENNESSEE.
AND AGAIN THEY KILLED THE BILL THAT WOULD DO AWAY WITH THE
LOOPHOLES TO PROTECT THESE KIDS.
SOME OF THEM ARE THREE-DAY WAITING PERIODS BEFORE HAVING A
WEDDING.
YOU HAVE PLANNED A WEDDING, I'VE PLANNED A WEDDING.
THREE DAYS, ARE YOU KIDDING ME?
WE NEED TO GET THESE CHILDREN
MARRIED NOW BEFORE IT GETS -- INSERT SOMETHING DISGUSTING
THERE.
IT'S LIKE WE NEED TO GET THIS KID MARRIED NOW, WE CAN'T
WAIT 72 HOURS.
IF YOU LOOK AT THE U.S. AS A WHOLE, THERE ARE OTHER STATES
WHO HAVE LOOPHOLES LIKE THIS ON THE BOOKS --
87% ARE GIRLS, ONE THIRD WERE
16 AND UNDER, 14% MARRIED OTHER
MINORS, SURE, THE YOUNGEST CHILDREN TO MARRY WERE THREE
10-YEAR-OLD GIRLS IN TENNESSEE.
THIS IS ALL FROM A FRONTLINE
REPORT.
THE YOUNGEST GROOM WAS AN 11-YEAR-OLD WHO MARRIED A
27-YEAR-OLD.
ONE OF THE OLDEST PERSON TO MARRY A CHILDREN WAS A
74-YEAR-OLD IN ALABAMA, HIS BRIDE WAS 14.
WHAT DID I TELL YOU ABOUT ALABAMA CONSERVATIVES WHO WANT
TO MARRY 14-YEAR-OLDS?
I DIDN'T KNOW THAT STORY, AND THERE IT IS.
THE STATE RAISED THE AGE TO 16 AFTERWARDS.
THAT'S SOMETHING.
MY POINT ABOUT CULTURE, AND KENTUCKY THE RIGHT-WING GROUP
WANTS TO DEFEAT THIS LEGISLATION SAYS WE ARE JUST LOOKING OUT FOR
PARENTAL RIGHTS.
IN CASE THE PARENT WANTS TO CONSENT.
AND
THEY HAVE A WHOLE BUNCH OF EXCUSES, I DON'T BELIEVE THEM.
THESE STATES COULD END WHAT IS IN ESSENCE, AS JIMMY POINTED OUT
AND AS THE EXPERTS POINT OUT, LEGALIZED CHILD RATE, BUT THEY
AREN'T DOING IT.
ONE OF THE WOMEN WAS MARRIED OFF AT 16 TO A
PREDATOR WHO MOLESTED HER AT 14 AND CONTINUED TO, HER PARENTS
PRESSURED HER TO MARRY HIM.
I'VE USED THIS EXAMPLE OFTEN, IN
CENTRAL ASIA THERE ARE NOMADIC CULTURES THAT USED TO KIDNAP
WOMEN BECAUSE THEY WERE NOMADS AND THEY WOULD DO RAIDS, THEY
STILL HAVE THAT TRADITION.
SOME, NOT ALL, SOME OF THEM STILL
KIDNAP WOMEN, RAPE THEM, AND THEN THE WOMAN'S PARENTS COME
OVER AND SAY DON'T CAUSE US EMBARRASSMENT, JUST MARRY YOUR
RAPIST.
AND WE GO ALL MY GOD, LOOK AT THESE CENTRAL ASIAN
COUNTRIES, LOOK AT THESE MUSLIM FUNDAMENTALISTS, LOOK AT THESE
GUYS -- MEANWHILE RIGHT HERE IN TENNESSEE AND KENTUCKY, THAT
CASE IN KENTUCKY, THE WOMAN WHO HAD BEEN ABUSED SINCE 14, HER
MOM CAME AND CONVINCED HER TO MARRY HER MOLESTER, AND ONE OF
HER REASONS WAS, WHAT IS THE BIG DEAL?
I GOT MARRIED AT 13.
BECAUSE THERE IS A CERTAIN SUBSET OF CULTURE THAT IS USED
TO THAT KIND OF MARRIAGE, PARTLY BECAUSE WHEN YOU HIT PUBERTY,
THE BIBLE INSTRUCTS US IT'S TIME FOR YOU TO HAVE KIDS, AND YOU
CAN'T HAVE SEX OUTSIDE OF MARRIAGE SO UP AND AT 'EM.
SO THIS IS WHAT THEY MEAN WHEN THEY TALK ABOUT THE
SANCTITY MARRIAGE.