A bill passed this year in Arkansas allows preschoolers to marry, but only if they bring a note signed by mommy or daddy.
The legislation was intended to establish 18 as the minimum age to marry but also allow pregnant teenagers to marry with parental consent, bill sponsor Rep. Will Bond said. An extraneous "not" in the bill, however, allows anyone who is not pregnant to marry at any age if the parents allow it.
"It's clearly not the intent to allow 10-year-olds or 11-year-olds to get married," Bond said. "The legislation was screwed up."
The bill reads: "In order for a person who is younger than eighteen (18) years of age and who is not pregnant to obtain a marriage license, the person must provide the county clerk with evidence of parental consent to the marriage." [Link]
[Thanks, Nancy!]
Thanks for sharing this article. I am totally using it in my English classes.
All they need to do is change it to "not unpregnant."