The legislative battle over a bill addressing the minimum age for marriage continues.  Currently, there is no age floor in Louisiana in order to get married.  GOP lawmakers continue their push against the measure, including Houma Representative Beryl Amadee, who says she met her husband in their teenage years.

“If it wasn’t for the belief that we should actually get a high school diploma before we get a marriage license, we would have been married when I was 15 and our parents would have allowed it,” said Amadee.

An amendment was introduced that would preserve the lack of minimum age, but would require 16- and 17-year-olds have parental consent for marriage and judicial review for younger individuals.  It’s an amendment that was met with opposition by Baton Rouge Representative Patricia Smith.

“This is a good bill to raise the age to 17, leave it at that, and I’m not going to agree with the amendment.  I just wish you all would think about what you are really voting on,” said Smith.

Lafayette Representative Nancy Landry says she’s for sending the bill to a conference committee prior to advancing the measure any further.

“We would send this to the law institute and let them study it and have a much better discussion about it in a committee then to hurriedly pass a bill that we don’t even really know what is in it or what public policy we are advancing with this bill,” said Landry.

The conference committee will be a select group of House and Senate members that will attempt to set a minimum age for marriage that can receive approval before the legislative session ends on Thursday night.

More From 99.9 KTDY