I saw her speak on TV news this AM... <img src="/ubbt/images/graemlins/rolleyes.gif" alt="" />

Pep:

I wouldn't consider this a MARRIAGE...

So I wouldn't try to help them...

God's laws vs. Society's laws is relevant again here...

EVIL FORCES ARE IN CONTROL here, IMO....

That's child abuse not a marriage. Grr...

Double tragedy. The boy and the fetus. No, wouldn't help them if they came here.
It is the boy and the fetus who need help from that woman. Rech.

My answer: No.

My son turns 18 next month. I've always thought there is something incredibly wrong with men and women who seek relationships with teens. Their brains just aren't right.

Mojo:

YES..

I was thinking this hits too close to home for me...

You wouldn't believe how many older women acquaintances have told me how "HANDSOME" my sons are...they are well-built and athletic....

One woman "winked" at one of our sons (when he was a teenager) in church while he was taking up offering and was bold enougn to tell me so...

YUK....

Yep...CHILD ABUSE!!!

Marriage is between A MAN AND A WOMAN....

I wouldn't be able to offer anything to a couple like this.

But then again, I have nothing to offer to "affair marriages" other than "what did you expect?".

committed

If I thought they could be helped here, yes, I would.

But I think they have some severe problems that go way beyond what MB was ever designed to address.

I think that when someone under the age of consent is involved, that the best thing is to leave it to the authorities, a la Mary Kay Letourneau.

I have two teenagers and I just don't get it. Appalling.

why?

I would "help" that silly, brainless woman to a dose of reality.

Seeing as how my reply is the same as LO, I'll tell you why I would say that. Because who am I to judge another person? They already did the deed. They have two options from here ~ stay married or get divorced (or annuled). If the courts cannot force them to any particular conclusion, and they choose to stay married, that is what this site is for.

Holding back aid for a personal judgement is very dangerous, IMO.

Spidey

But who are you to "judge" what is dangerous? Don't you think the "danger" comes from molesting children? I don't think it shows good judgement to help someone exploit a minor regardless of a loophole in the law. I believe we are expected to be able to judge right from wrong as rational, free adults. Folks who cannot judge right from wrong fill our prisons and that is exactly where they belong.

As SS noted, despite my judgements about the propriety of their relationship, it is a legal fact.

I am not condoning what this woman did. It is morally reprehensible.

Georgia isn't the only state with these kinds of laws on the books.

Now that they ARE married, they might very well decide to make a go of it. If they decide to get serious about it, they will need a lot of help. I might not like what they did, but I will not shun them.

I do think they have some issues that will require maturity possessed by neither of them to overcome. If they can move to maturity by coming here, then, yes, I would help them.

BTW, One of my first cousins was 17 when she married her then 40 year old H. We were appalled at the time, but it was legal. In time, he has shown himself to be a pretty good H and father.

NOW...if you ask me what I think we should do in the future..

We need to get these laws off the books. We need to ensure laws concerning molestation of minors are crystal clear. THEN, we need to enforce them rigorously.

I'm curious though...if Mary Kay and Vili were to post to this forum TODAY, would we offer them help?

Low

Sure it does. Unfortunately, in this case, legal molestation has not occurred.

We should fix the law.

In the meantime, we are only talking about those things that ofend our sensibilities.

Personally, I think it's idiotic for people under 25 to marry. We know today that the human brain doesn't exit adolescence until around then.

It should be illegal for immature people to marry...we should devise some kind of test...

It should also be illegal for immature people to vote, serve in the military, or even drive. It scares the daylights out of me to share the road with 16 year old kids.

So I don't think any of the above is right. Should I withhold help from those adolescents who find themselves married, in the military, or driving a car?

BTW, I've noticed that we frequently find ourselves offering help to women who've chosen to abort their children...how is this LEGAL heinous act of violence against a child any different from the case above? Why don't we shun those women?

Low

LowOrbit, I really don't care if it's legal, my concern is the morality of the act. Having sex with a 14 yr old child is molestation, and is immoral, regardless of loopholes in the law.

If an affairee came here seeking help in the pursuit of her affair, you can bet I would not help her even though it is "legal." There are lots of things that are legal, it doesn't make them moral. And it doesn't oblige me to help them in such a pursuit.

But suppose the affairees divorce their spouse and pursue a marriage with each other? If they came here seeking to overcome the mistakes they made, would we help them?

I'm not arguing whether or not they DESERVE help. I'm not even arguing whether we are obliged to help (we're not, in any case).

I'm simply saying that if the chose to make an earnest go of this odd, yet legal situation, I'd be willing to help them make the best of it, rather than ignore them.

No one is saying that YOU have to or even should.

Low

The state of Georgia does not agree with you:

"Clark faces a number of charges in Hall County, Ga., including child molestation and statutory rape. Clark tells an Atlanta TV station WAGA that her teenage husband is no victim. "
http://www.azcentral.com/offbeat/articles/1213younggroom13-ON.html