This is widespread and could get worse . . .
Mat Staver
A tribal group intentionally targets child brides. If the girl is not willing after being enticed and pressured, the older man will just snatch her, force her into his home and “marry” her off the books. Sounds outrageous, but it’s happening. Even the Los Angeles Times has reported on this outrageous abuse. But it continues, and if HR 8404 passes (Respect for Marriage Act), this abuse will be exported to every state and territory.
The “ceremony,” if you can call it that, takes about 30 seconds and includes the father-in-law waiving a live rooster around their heads to ward off evil spirits. When the parents find out, it’s too late, and culturally they are forced into accepting the “marriage” and receiving a few thousand dollars for the bride price ...
This is not some foreign problem. It is happening right now in America among Hmong immigrants!
Local leaders in California of this Chinese tribal group claim child-bride marriages happen to about half of their young girls, but women in the community claim that about 70% of their girls are married before age 17.
Many of them are significantly younger. Some haven’t even hit puberty yet. And in California, there are no legal limits on how young the bride can be.
Congress should stop these crimes, but instead, HR 8404 will expand them by allowing one state or territory to export its child-bride “marriage” laws, and much more. This bill will also codify same-sex marriages, and in so doing, establish a national LGBTQ public policy that can be used outside of marriage. Already five Republicans have joined Democrats, and they just need five more to make this law!
I need your help to hold senators accountable and hold the line against this bad bill. Rush urgent faxes to the Senate against HR 8404. — Mat
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Some senators simply viewed this bill as codifying same-sex marriage. That alone is wrong, especially since the Supreme Court’s 2015 opinion will likely be overturned at some point. But many senators have not carefully thought about the other far-reaching implications of HR 8404. Your faxes and petitions along with your personal contact are already having an impact.
Nou is one of the rare child brides who was able to finish high school. Her story is just one example of the horrible abuse that HR 8404 will export nationally.
“I was 12. My husband was 23,” she said. “He told me he wanted to marry me. He picked me up and took me to his house. I didn’t say yes and I didn’t say no. My mother told me not to get married but it happens. It’s a very hard life.”
Many others are not able to continue their education. On average, Hmong women give birth to 9.5 children and schooling is the rare exception.
Even if a girl were to try to somehow escape, the cultural shame of doing so is crushing. Hmong culture is very strict. “If you are seen outside the home with a boy, that is taboo,” let alone having escaped from this kind of abusive relationship. Even if they escape, they have no rights as minors. They cannot divorce, rent an apartment or stay with friends because the friends can be criminally charged for harboring a fugitive who is a minor.
These women said that “even the most eligible Hmong men—college graduates and Americanized—too often want 14- and 15-year-old wives.”
With little schooling, these child brides raise their own children who are also then married at a young age, and the cycle of abuse and poverty repeats. More than 60% of those recognized as Hmong are on welfare and public assistance.
It is mind-blowing that this is happening on American soil. But what is even more heartwrenching is that our elected officials are turning a blind eye to it, and even taking actions that further trap these young women into this cycle of abuse. If the Senate passes the “Respect for Marriage Act” (HR 8404), it will expand this abuse nationally. Rush urgent faxes to the Senate to stop HR 8404.
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For the men in this culture, marriage is very enticing. Ou Vang dabbled in gang life but then wanted to reconcile with his shaman father, so he used a convenience store phone to call home and send this message to his father: “Get the chicken ready.”
He was 17 and his girlfriend was 13. Now that he is married, he is seen as a man and able to come and go as he pleases. They now live in a bedroom in his parent’s home as he continues high school.
But Ou still has one hurdle to overcome to be a full man. He must have a son. The opinion of his “wife” doesn’t count in their culture.
The emphasis on having a son is so strong that if the first wife does not have a son, Hmong men are culturally allowed to take a second wife.
HR 8404 throws open the doors for same sex, child-bride, incestuous and polygamous “marriages” to be exported to every state and territory.
We have a short window. Tell as many senators as you can to stop this bill! Click the button below to send your faxes now.
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Every minute of every day we need one senator on the floor to object to a voice vote. This will force a full vote, and we expect it to be very close.
We need every senator we can get to stop this bill. YOU can make the difference.
Working together, we can stop HR 8404 from passing! Everyone must speak up NOW by sending faxes and signing the petition!
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As always, I appreciate your prayers for our nation and for our team!
Mat Staver, Chairman
Liberty Counsel Action
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Sources:
Arax, Mark. “The Child Brides of California: In the Central Valley, Hmong Men Continue the Tradition of Marrying Girls as Young as 12 or 13. Most of Them Quickly Become Welfare Mothers. But Some Women Are Balking.” Los Angeles Times, May 4, 1993. Latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1993-05-04-mn-31160-story.html.
“Traditional Hmong Weddings.” ReligionsMN. Accessed August 15, 2022. Religionsmn.carleton.edu/exhibits/show/hmong-religiosity/hmong-rituals-birth-marriage-d/traditional-hmong-weddings.
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