Roy Moore Allegations Point to Evidence of Child Bride Culture

I wonder about something. Please don't attack me on this because I'm just trying to understand our culture and what got us here. I am not making any kind of a defense of Mr. Moore.

Is Mr. Moore a pedophyle, or is he one of the last vestiges of an archaic system of child brides in an era of newer and more socially advanced 21st Century values? After all look at where this occurred and how old he is. I would be willing to bet my eye teeth he seen that very same behaviour in adults while he was a child. A lot of southern backwater, and frontwater, churches advocate such a thing. Even my own dear mother was only 16 when she married the 22 year old who was my father, in north Florida.

They were all poor, and grandma and grandpa had 9 kids, 7 of which were girls. They were glad to get them married off.

Look at the culture there. I grew up in the deep south. I remember hearing countless times "If it's old enough to bleed, it's old enough to breed." as justification for pursuing underage girls. There are many there who are not much more advanced socially with regards to child brides than they were 1000 years ago. It seems like a crime to our 21st century sentimentalities, but to a lot of poor people in the deep south it makes for one less mouth to feed and maybe some grandkids to brag about.

I am certainly not giving this Mr. Moore a pass. This is the 21st Century and I expect people to act like it. What I do think is missing from this issue is the bigger picture. Do you think this type of behaviour ended with him? It most certainly did not, and will not unless we take in the bigger picture. First start with the obsolete laws concerning marriage. Laws that I feel encourage the behaviour Mr. Moore engaged in with a 14 year old.

If I had my way, there wouldn't be a state in which any person could get married before the age of 18, and not even if the parents wanted them too.
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Code of Alabama 30-1-4, 5: Minimum age for contracting marriage; Consent of parents and bond required for marriage of certain minors. Marriage under 16 is voidable, not void. Marriage between 16 and 18 without parental consent is not grounds for annulment.
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Mississippi's marriage age statutes are listed in the table below. Minors under minimum age may obtain license with parental consent and approval of court. Minor females age 15 yrs. and older and males 17 yrs. and older but under 21 may obtain license with parental consent and court order.
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However, state marriage age requirement laws apply to minors. Some state age limit laws will allow partners with a child (or expecting a child) to get married and a few states have no statutory age limits. Marriage age requirement laws in Louisiana restrict marriage to those 16 and older with parental consent.