Ga. examines law that allows kids to wed

[kweerwolf]

Ever since her 13-year-old niece wed a 14-year-old boy last year, Sharon Cline has sent lawmakers a slew of letters begging them to change a Georgia law that allows children of any age to marry - without parental consent - as long as the bride-to-be is pregnant.

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Lisa Lynnette Clark, 37, was charged last week in Gainesville with child molestation for allegedly having a sexual relationship with a 15-year-old friend of her teenage son. Just days before her arrest, she wed the boy under a Georgia law that allows pregnant couples to marry regardless of age and without consent.

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State Rep. Karla Drenner said she plans to author a bill that would bar children under age 16 from marrying regardless of the circumstances or at least would require parental consent.

As the only openly gay elected official in Georgia's state government, Drenner said the irony of the lax marriage standards for minors is not lost upon her - particularly a year after lawmakers passed a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage.

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