Grandma...Shut Up!

Georgia has a quirky little law. If you're underage and want to get married you need your parents permission..unless the bride is pregnant.

If the bride is pregnant, or the couple already has a child, 12-year-olds could get married and there's nothing anyone can do to stop them. The authorities marry them then inform the family of the minor(s) involved that a marriage has occurred. In a public policy way it makes sense. It's supposed to encourage children being raised with both parents. It also gives an interesting dodge to people that could be accussed of child molestation.

So last week a woman in her 30s and her 15-year-old boyfriend ran off and got married and it was all legal because they were expecting. The boy's Grandmother is having a public meltdown declaring she's going to have the woman put under the jail (the black lipliner is tragic but hardly criminal), end the mariage, change the law, and keep her Grandson from the evil shedevil.

Thing is..it's done..it's the law..they're married now...as a married man, he's in effect an adult...there's not really anything Grandma can do.

She can possibly change the law which effects more people than just her. There are people that have needed that law to form families when their parents wouldn't sign for them. People whose parents were trying to keep them apart, send the girl off, force an adoption. A 150 year old law has a 150 years of history attached to it.

She can alienate her Grandson and his new wife and make sure she never gets to see her GreatGrandchild.

She can get a lot of facetime on the TV news.

But she can't make time go back and make this marriage go away.