Wow… I had no idea this was still happening here in the US! I support the author’s suggestion to eliminate these “exceptions” that enable underage marriage.
Of course, one person’s “parental consent” can be another’s “parental coercion,” but state laws typically do not call for anyone to investigate whether a child is marrying willingly. Even in the case of a girl’s sobbing openly while her parents sign the application and force her into marriage, the clerk usually has no authority to intervene. In fact, in most states there are no laws that specifically forbid forced marriage.
Source: America’s Child-Marriage Problem – The New York Times