Virginia
Virginia might end ‘loophole’ in child marriage law
When Judy Wiegand was 13 years old, she got married in a church in Clintwood — near the Kentucky border. She felt she didn’t have a choice; it was the expectation for pregnant women in her community. At the time — around 40 years ago — it was legal in Virginia for an underage and pregnant teenager to get married with parental consent.
In an interview last week, she said she wasn’t compatible with her husband, who allegedly became violent, but because of Kentucky law couldn’t divorce him until she turned 18. Wiegand said she doesn’t blame her family or community for what happened.
“I blame the legal bodies that were supposed to protect me and did not,” said Wiegand, who went on to get a doctorate in physical therapy and now specializes in working with youth.
Wiegand is now part of an effort to tighten Virginia’s laws to ban all underage marriage. While that’s already largely the case after a series of bipartisan reforms passed in 2016, the current law carves out an exception for emancipated minors between the ages of 16 and 18.
Legislation from Del. Karen Keys-Gamarra (D–Fairfax) would end that exemption. On Feb. 2, the full Courts of Justice committee voted to send it back to a subcommittee that had previously voted in favor of the bill.
Subcommittee chair Del. Marcus Simon (D–Fairfax) said last week he’d heard a member of Democratic caucus leadership had concerns that the bill needed more work. Simon said he wasn’t sure who the person was or what they wanted to change.
“Sometimes, these things just happen on the fly,” Simon said.
Neither Keys-Gamarra nor the spokesperson for the House Democratic caucus responded to emails seeking clarity.
In the subcommittee meeting last week, Keys-Gamarra said the change would bring the commonwealth into alignment with international norms established by groups like the United Nations, which seeks to end child marriages by 2030.
Keys-Gamarra’s bill is backed by a range of advocacy groups, including the Virginia chapter of the National Organization for Women, Equality Now, Zonta USA, Tahirih Justice Center, Unchained at Last and Ultraviolet.
I could not hire an attorney or enter into a lease, because I was a minor. I couldn’t even drive, because I wasn’t old enough, and he controlled my entire life.
–Sara, who said she was married at 16 to a 29-year-old
At the meeting, representatives from those groups shared first- and secondhand accounts of child marriages they said involved abuse and coercion.
Aliya Abbas, a self-described child marriage survivor, said she was forced into a marriage with a stranger when she was 17, and alleged she was raped repeatedly and threatened with death when she sought a divorce.
“This emancipation loophole does not save children who are going to be coerced into this human rights abuse,” Abbas said.
Another woman, who identified herself only as Sara, said she was married at 16 to a man 13 years her senior after she became pregnant. She also described being raped and abused.
“I could not escape to a domestic violence shelter, because I was a minor,” Sara said. “I could not hire an attorney or enter into a lease, because I was a minor. I couldn’t even drive, because I wasn’t old enough, and he controlled my entire life.”
Before the General Assembly passed legislation in 2016 that then-Gov. Terry McAuliffe signed into law, Virginia allowed marriages for youth under 16 if the relationship involved a pregnancy and the parents of anyone underage consented. Marriages were also allowed from age 16-18 with parental consent.
The 2016 legislation allowed people between the ages of 16 and 18 to petition the court for emancipation provided a judge found that is “in the best interests of the minor to be emancipated.”
The judge must determine that the underage person is making the decision freely, is “mature enough to make a decision to marry” and wouldn’t have their safety jeopardized by the marriage.
Joshua Hetzler, legislative counsel for The Family Foundation, said the current process has sufficient safeguards and emancipated minors should be treated as adults.
“If somebody is deemed to be a legal adult, and otherwise has all the rights of an adult, and of course, they should have the right to marry as well,” Hetzler said. “Many of us have grandparents where it was common to get married at 16 or 17. And many of them are still married today.”
That logic irked Wiegand, who said women in that era “were basically told what to do.”
“This isn’t about entering into a marriage that is a loving, consenting marriage,” Wiegand said.
It’s unclear how many people in Virginia might be impacted by the change. The advocacy group Unchained at Last estimated nearly 8,000 underage people in Virginia were married between 2000 and 2018.
Virginia (3-2) is set to host Manhattan (3-2) on Tuesday night at John Paul Jones Arena in Charlottesville, Virginia. Follow along with score updates, play-by-play, and live analysis for the game in the thread below. Updates will be posted at each timeout in reverse chronological order with the most recent updates at the top of the article. Refresh the page for updates.
As we await our 7pm tip between Virginia and Manhattan on the ACC Network, read a full preview of the game here: Virginia Basketball vs. Manhattan Game Preview, Score Prediction
Virginia has posted its starting five for tonight’s game:
– Dai Dai Ames
– Isaac McKneely
– Andrew Rohde
– Elijah Saunders
– Blake Buchanan
Notably, TJ Power has been replaced by Andrew Rohde in the starting lineup after starting the first five games of the season. Power is shooting 25% from three (4/16), while Rohde is currently shooting 50% from beyond the arc (7/14).
- Virginia and Manhattan will meet on Tuesday night for just the second time ever and first time since March 19th, 1993, when the Cavaliers defeated the Jaspers 78-66 in the first round of the 1993 NCAA Tournament.
- UVA is 9-0 against current members of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference.
- Virginia’s last game against a MAAC team was back in 2012, when the Cavaliers defeated Fairfield 54-45 at John Paul Jones Arena.
- UVA is 2-0 at John Paul Jones Arena this season and 3-0 against unranked opponents this season.
Read more Virginia men’s basketball news and content in the links below:
UVA Basketball: Ten Things We Learned About Virginia in The Bahamas
Virginia Basketball Falls to St. John’s 80-55 | Key Takeaways
The Plus/Minus: Virginia Gets Skunked by Tennessee in The Bahamas
Virginia Basketball Falls to Tennessee 64-42 | Key Takeaways
LOUDOUN COUNTY, Va. – A man has been arrested after entering a store in McLean, stealing merchandise and assaulting an employee.
The suspect has been identified as Calvin Hughes Jr, of Washington D.C.
Leesburg Pike robbery suspect
Police responded to the 8300 block of Leesburg Pike in McLean for a commercial robbery on November 21 around 11:00 a.m. According to police, the suspect entered the store, stole merchandise, and assaulted an employee.
Hughes Jr. was identified and arrested nearby for robbery and is being held without bond.
Virginia
Sunshine State Bound Wolverines Ready for Virginia Tech at Fort Myers Tipoff – University of Michigan Athletics
ANN ARBOR, Mich. — The University of Michigan men’s basketball team (4-1) hits the road to take on Virginia Tech (3-2) at the Fort Myers Myers Tip-Off on Monday (Nov. 25) at Suncoast Credit Union Arena. Opening tip is scheduled for 6 p.m., and the game will be broadcast live on FS1.
Notes
• There will be eight teams in two divisions competing in the Fort Myers Tipoff. Michigan is among four teams in the Beach Division along with South Carolina, Virginia Tech and Xavier. The Palms Division features Miami (Ohio), Jacksonville, Mercer and Siena.
• The Maize and Blue faces Virginia Tech in its Beach Division opener on Monday. After a prep day, Michigan plays either South Carolina or Xavier in the consolation (6 p.m.) or championship (8:30 p.m.) on Wednesday (Nov. 27).
• After Thanksgiving, the Michigan women’s team plays at the Fort Myers Tipoff, in Shell Division play. Kim Barnes Arico’s Wolverines open with Belmont (Nov. 29; 2 p.m.) and play either Virginia Tech or Davidson on Saturday (Nov. 30) in the consolation (2 p.m.) or championship (5 p.m.).
• Michigan is 4-2 all-time against Virginia Tech. After winning the first four games in the series, the Wolverines have dropped the last two. U-M faces Virginia Tech for the first time in eight years, last playing in 2016 ACC/Big Ten Challenge at Crisler Center. All six games in this series have been part of a tournament or specialty event.
• Michigan is 3-3 all-time against South Carolina. The Wolverines could face the Gamecocks for the first time in six years, with the teams having faced off in the second game of a home-and-home series played in 2018. There have been three games in Ann Arbor, and two in Columbia. The lone neutral-site game was the championship of the 2006 NIT in Madison Square Garden (U-M lost 76-64).
• Michigan is 3-1 all-time against Xavier. Two of the four games have been played in the postseason. The first came in the 1984 NIT quarterfinals — a 63-62 U-M win — as the Wolverines went on to claim their first NIT title. The second was in the 1989 NCAA first round — a 92-87 U-M win — which was the launching point for the Maize and Blue on its way its first national championship. The last meeting between the Wolverines and Musketeers was in the 2015 Gavitt Games (Big Ten vs. Big East) at Crisler Center — nine years ago (U-M lost 86-70).
• ?Michigan wrapped up a three-game homestand (3-0) and improved to 4-1 overall. Now, U-M plays five of its next six games on the road. The Wolverines will be away from Ann Arbor for seven of its next 10 games.
• U-M is shooting 52.8 percent from the field, which ranks 15th nationally. Seven Wolverines are shooting above 50 percent as Tre Donaldson leads U-M shooting 62.2 percent (23-for-37).
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