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Marriage laws change 27th February 2023

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Looks like Gretna Green will get busy again then as the new law does not include Scotland. I can see that it's to try and prevent forced marriage by certain members of our society so that is a good thing.
The most stupid part is calling 16-17 year olds children
 
The answer to the, question in international and domestic law is clear: a child is anyone under the age of 18. But it took a legal challenge and a national campaign to ensure that 17-year-olds were given the same rights as other children in the police station.
 
“For marriages of opposite-sex couples, the average (mean) age for men marrying in 2016 was 37.9 years, while for women it was 35.5 years. This was a slight increase for both men and women from the previous year and continued the overall rise recorded since the 1970s. The average age at marriage for same-sex couples in 2016 was slightly higher at 40.8 years for men and 37.4 years for women.”
 
A Sparks said:
From reading about it now, I think the law is more to safeguard young teenagers from other ethnicities being forced to marry.
I doubt very much that many young english people are wanting to marry before 18 these days.
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I think that cohabitation is much more acceptable today than when we were married (1969). This would tend to bring down the marriage number or push the age out. I doubt the cohabitants are a part of the count.
 
I think we need to understand how 16-17 year olds will feel about this change in marriage law.

I ask us all to try and remember where our thoughts were when we were a 16 year old.

Back in 1968, I was sixteen, but then it was very different time. I at that time would not have agreed that in 1975 only seven years later I would be a totally different person.
We need to talk to our youngsters, not to talk at them.

And remember how much did we understand at that age.

Nick Phillips
 
A Sparks said:
From reading about it now, I think the law is more to safeguard young teenagers from other ethnicities being forced to marry.
I doubt very much that many young english people are wanting to marry before 18 these days.
Click to expand...
Exactly. It's the ONLY reason the law has been changed. If 'forced marriage' didn't exist the law would not have
been changed. Of course that is no comfort to the mature minded couples that had planned to marry before the
aged of 18.

For the record, my father married at 17 in 1954 and I married at 20 in 1976 (neither were shotgun marriages!)

My wife tells me we are still happily married!!
 
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