Jess Piper: Last News

Springfield News-Leader reported that Moon met the couple "who had married one another at age 12" while in college.A clip of the interaction between the Missouri legislators garnered attention online, with social media users scrutinizing Moon for his stance, but some critics equated his remarks to his support of 12-year-olds being allowed to marry adults."The fact that Missouri Senator Mike Moon said that 12 year olds can be married off to adults just sickens me. My daughter is nearly 11 and still plays with Barbies and her baby dolls," Jess Piper, the executive director of Blue Missouri, tweeted.Most states have a minimum marriage age of 16 years old and advocacy groups have called for all states to set the minimum age to 18, with no exceptions.