A Missouri state senator who is apparently fighting to block gender-affirming care for transgender youth but is OK with 12-year-olds getting married.
Republican lawmaker Mike Moon is going viral for comments he made Tuesday while arguing for a bill he introduced to ban gender-affirming care for the state’s transgender teens. When pressed by state Rep. Peter Meredith (D) about a different bill Moon voted against in the past, which would make it illegal for adults to marry children, the GOP lawmaker doubled down on his support for underage marriage.
“Do you know any kids who have been married at age 12? I do. And guess what? They’re still married,” Moon responded, according to the Springfield News-Leader Moon’s approval of child marriages isn’t new, according to the News-Leader.
In 2018, he opposed a passed law that raised the state’s marriage age from 15 to 16 and required older teenagers to get parental permission.
Moon used the same anecdote he cited on Tuesday but acknowledged that while the couple provided an extreme example, the married 12-year-old in his story was “something to ponder,” the paper said.
Not surprisingly, many Twitter users were outraged by Moon’s support for child marriage.
TWITTER REACTS TO MIKE MOONS’ COMMENTS
Holy shit. A Democrat just called out Missouri Sen. Mike Moon (R) for voting against a bill that would ban adults marrying 12-year-olds & the Republican doubled down: “Do you know any kids marriaged at age 12? I do, and guess what? They’re still married!” pic.twitter.com/RlXU33MYTg
— No Lie with Brian Tyler Cohen (@NoLieWithBTC) April 12, 2023
Good morning, to everyone… except Missouri House Republicans. This bullshit has to stop!!!
https://t.co/vR8a3Bnkdr— LeVar Burton (@levarburton) April 12, 2023
Imagine your defense is “I know some 12 year olds in happy marriages”?!
Or being too STUPID to see that those kids have been psychologically and sexually terrorized to stay in the marriage by the adult.
And I GUARANTEE you that fuck-o wasn’t talking about any MALE 12 year olds.
— John Rocha aka The Outlaw Nation (@TheRochaSays) April 12, 2023
I’m curious about the married couple Moon supposedly knows and deeply concerned about their well-being. As well as for any minor children or anyone else for that matter in Moon’s life.
— Circe 🇺🇸🇺🇦 (@CerseiLe) April 12, 2023
Missouri has a problem with Pastors in our Legislature who are going after trans kids and books so they can distract from their own failure to protect kids and even marry them off. Everyone, please remember the SBC (Southern Baptists Convention) sex abuse cover-up. pic.twitter.com/s2cMwPs0cL
— TaraAnura4Missouri (@Tara4Missouri) April 12, 2023