LJ-SEC: (ORIGINALLY POSTED BY jargon_john)

Article: Despite senator’s efforts, juvenile marriage ban advances

Topeka — Citing Loretta Lynn and the Virgin Mary as successful women who married young, Sen. Kay O’Connor voted against a bill that would prohibit 14-year-olds from marrying.

But the Senate didn’t go along with O’Connor on Wednesday, approving the measure 36-4. The House is expected to take up the bill today, and if it approves, the proposal will be sent to Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, who has called for restrictions on underage marriages.

During Senate debate, O’Connor, R-Olathe, said, “I see this as a pro-abortion bill.”

...

O’Connor noted that girls mature earlier than boys, and that history is full of prominent women who were married in their early teens. She cited country singer Loretta Lynn, who was married when she was 13, and Mary, the mother of Jesus, whom some scholars say was probably about 16 when married, based on the norms of the time.

...

The issue erupted last year in Kansas when a 22-year-old Nebraska man impregnated his 14-year-old girlfriend and seven months later brought her to Kansas to get married. Nebraska law prohibits the marriage of people younger than 17 regardless of parental consent.

Thanks to ytterbius for point out the last paragraph. I must have overread it, but it's clearly the most disturbing part of the article.