Tots Tying the Knot
No, not the laces of their Stride Rites but the matrimonial one.
Due to an omission in the wording of a 2007 bill passed by Arkansas lawmakers (hey guys, ever heard of a copy editor?), anyone of any age with parental permission could be married. Wooo-hooo! Good news for all those overly precocious youngsters who’ve been getting sex education since preschool and have pictures of Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake on their bedroom walls — you can be the first on your block to get a pre-nup! Also a lucky break for parents who fear their rugrats will grow up to wed a Hell’s Angel or lap dancer from the local strip club. Just arrange a very convenient and tidy marriage with the socially upscale family across the street and tote your tots down to City Hall and make it official. Voila! Your worries for your kids’ future are over!
The bizarre thing is that these unusual unions could, theoretically, have occurred in the last year and been perfectly legal, had the general public known about the law. They didn’t, however. The misbegotten piece of legislation, which has now been amended to read correctly, only resulted in confusion for county clerks — and well-deserved red faces for Gov. Beebe, Rep. Will Bond who sponsored the bill and the Arkansas General Assembly.
Gotta love our elected officials, eh? On the ball at all times…
–phoebe kate