COUNTERPOINT | Yes, South Dakota state senators voted to keep child marriage legal
Guest column by state Rep. Kadyn Wittman, D-Sioux Falls
Norman Woods’ recent column tries very hard to reframe the debate around child marriage in South Dakota as hysterical coastal activism versus wholesome family values. But underneath the rhetorical flourishes about Bill Gates and “East and West coast elites” is a much simpler truth: This was our third year trying to end child marriage in South Dakota, and many legislators, including a number of principled Republicans, believed the law should simply be 18, no exceptions.
The most disingenuous part of Woods’ piece is the attempt to pretend this debate was never about minors marrying in the first place. Individuals under 18 are children under the law. If the Legislature votes to preserve legal pathways for minors to marry, then yes, they are voting to continue allowing child marriage. That is not a smear or a campaign slogan. It is the literal legal reality.
During testimony, Norman Woods argued that many fathers would prefer their 16-year-old daughters marry an “established” older man. That statement reveals exactly why many South Dakotans were alarmed by opposition to this bill. Adults with significantly more financial power, life experience and social influence inherently hold power over minors. That imbalance is precisely why safeguards matter.
