Russians to marry at 14 y.o.?.....

[Cold Warrior]

Marriage Bill Halted

MOSCOW (MT) -- The Federation Council was set Wednesday to reject a bill lowering the minimum age of marriage from 16 to 14 after the chamber's committee on social policy objected to the legislation, Interfax reported.

Federation Council Speaker Sergei Mironov said Tuesday the bill was "inappropriate and its logic unclear," the report said. Mironov also said the bill was too open to interpretation.

The bill, passed by the State Duma late last month, would allow 14- to 16-year-olds to wed pending approval from local authorities and under "special circumstances." Parental consent is not obligatory and the authorities' decision could be appealed in court.

Valentina Petrenko, head of the social policy committee, said the legislation would promote "sex tourism" and child pornography, which Russian law enforcement has been ill-equipped to prosecute.

[JR]

... in response to Russians to marry at 14 y.o.?....., posted by Cold Warrior on Nov 13, 2002

Russia Rejects Early Marriage Bill

.c The Associated Press

MOSCOW (AP) - Russian lawmakers rejected a bill that would allow marriages from age 14, saying such legislation would foster ``decadence.''

The upper house of parliament rejected the bill Wednesday by a vote of 134 to four with four abstentions. It had been passed last month by the lower house, or State Duma, where supporters said they were trying to bring national legislation into line with the local traditions in Russia's ethnically diverse regions.

``By adopting this law, we would legitimize the decadence of minors and ease their being attracted into the porno business and the sex industry,'' legislator Valery Manilov was quoted as saying by the Komsomolskaya Pravda daily Thursday.

Russia currently allows people to marry from age 18, barring circumstances such as pregnancy that can push the minimum marriageable age to 16.