Austin (Texas Tribune– Texas’s home’s home is approaching a single step to eliminate a legal loophole that allows children’s marriage.
Home Law Bill 168By MP John Rosental, a democratic in Houston, passed an initial 83-51 on Tuesday and will be fired this week before the Senate. If passed, the bill will work Prohibition From issuing marriage licenses to minors, even if they are edited, it will actually end any current marriage that includes a minor.
Marriage that involves adolescents is rare after legislators in 2017 took steps to reduce this practice, but the vulnerability still allows some cases that include the palace to move forward.
“I originally brought this law to protect the Texas children from a loophole in the law that allows trafficking in these children. This is certainly my goal,” Rosental He said Legislators from Earth on Tuesday.
The legislators also initially approved a clause in the draft law on Tuesday that would give the survivors of children’s marriage a path to legal asylum when their marriage is resolved. Survivor advocates are concerned that the draft law will not leave the survivors without anything by emptying their marriage.
The draft law faced some questions from the representatives in the house hall.
Rosental explained that the Texas laws already say that people should be 18 years of marriage, although the age of sexual approval is 17, and the draft law will not change this age limit.
Representative Linda Garcia, a Democrat Miskit, asked what the bill means for adolescents protected by the so -called Romeo and Juliet laws, which allow relations between adults and minors if there is a three -year -old age gap.
“I think there is some concern that it is in a relationship in Romeo and Juliet, which would prevent them from being able to marry legally,” Garcia said, adding that teenagers in such relationships still live as husbands from public law.
Rosental agreed that the draft law will not affect the marriage of public law and will not only affect those who pass through the court.
He told the Texas Tribune that he was concerned that some legislators may try to include the Romeo and Juliet Bill.
“If I can get there, I will withdraw the bill,” Rosental told Texas Tribune.
He said that this ruling faces a high threshold for traffic, because it does not support it and be proposed after the House of Representatives has already agreed to the draft law without it on Tuesday. It will need at least 100 votes, which requires Democrats to participate in it as well.
If the draft law is passed in the House of Representatives, he will go to the Senate, where he will have to go to a committee and face three other votes in the Senate Hall.
This article was originally appeared in Texas Tribune At www.texastribune.org. The Texas Tribune is a non -profit and non -party media organization that informs Texas – and participates with them – about public policy, politics, government and issues at the state level.