Member-only story
Wedding bells (re)peal for under 18s
From today (27 February 2023), if you are aged under 18 and live in England or Wales, you may no longer marry. This will safeguard a small but not insignificant number of young people — espesh young women — who may find themselves forced into wedlock by over-zealous (and religious) parents. Hip! Hip! Hooray!
Job well done.
Except, can i be the only person wondering at the consistency of the thinking involved? Or the hypocrisy of a government concerned that having different ages for gender recognition in different parts of the UK is an abomination; while different ages for this equally life-changing event is quite OK?
Now read on…
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I first became aware of this not inconsiderable change in marriage law just over a month ago. “Oh!”, i wondered. “Was it just me not paying attention?”
Seemingly not. Because, from reaction to a few pieces on the topic pitched over the last couple of weeks, news and comment editors were also unaware of this. “Really, jane?”, the typical response. “We didn’t know”.
That is odd. Because no matter what you think of this legislation, it has consequences. First, and no means…
