https://usmarriagelaws.com/search/united_states/teen_marriage_laws/index.shtml
https://usmarriagelaws.com/search/united_states/teen_marriage_laws/index.shtml
Dr. MPS RAMANI Ph.D.[Tech.] (Scientist/Engineer) 28 October 2011
Child marriages happen in India and the US for different reasons. In India they were and they are arranged marriages and in US they happen either without the consent or consent obtained under compulsion of the parents. In India, particularly in the 20th century and earlier, parents were anxious to get their daughters married, before they attained puberty because the scripttures, Manu Smriti in particular, ordained that way. If a girl attained puberty before marriage, she was considered an out-caste. The Sarda Act passed in 1929 was not very effective. My two elder sisters got married in and before 1939 in defiance of the Act. In due course with the dawn of knowledge it disappeared from urban educated classes and late marriages of girls became common.
In USA child marriages are happening entirely for opposite reasons. With absolute freedom, with the advent of the automobile and telephone (now cell-phones) interaction between teenage boys and girls became easy and even became the order of the day. The result was teenage pregnancies and young unwed mothers.
When something undesirable happens, laws come later in an unsuccessful attempt to prevent them from happening.
It is quite possible child marriages will return to India in the US form.
...there is a subtle difference though. In US, teens start having s*x as early as 13 years onwards. Many of these kids land up as pregnent teen and live off tax payors money and the child grows up on tax payors money. Many of these teens are not married and dont want to marry. Many of these teens want to marry and make more babies because they get money thro social security and other state and federal welfare machinery.
India does not have the social system to protect the pregnent, pay and feed the children that may be born out of what you are proposing.
It may help reduce the s*xual frustration but at the risk of population explosion that our country may not be able to handle.
Dr. MPS RAMANI Ph.D.[Tech.] (Scientist/Engineer) 25 January 2012
To say that it will result in population explosion, is to simplify things. Children brought up by mature, educated, adult parents grow up and become good citizens. Child parents are neither mature nor responsible. When a 13 year old becomes pregnant and forced into premature adulthood what kind of citizens will they become when they grow up? And what about their children? When freedom is carried too far and with free mixing of the s*xes things become uncontrollable disaster.