Inmates decry new Texas law banning proxy marriages

[Jazzy]

LIVINGSTON, Texas - Christopher King can't get married, at least not while he's confined to a Texas prison.

The convicted car thief and his fiancee are prevented from tying the knot because of a new state law that bans proxy marriages, which were common among prisoners because they allowed a couple to use a stand-in for the inmate.

But the new law requires both parties to be present during a marriage ceremony, and the Texas prison system doesn't allow ceremonies in its facilities.

The law was meant to stop people from fraudulently marrying an individual and cashing in on their unwitting spouse's benefits. But it also unintentionally affects prison inmates, which may conflict with U.S. Supreme Court rulings decades ago that upheld a prisoner's right to marry.

"I don't think (prison officials) should put a hold on someone's love," King, who has spent more than eight years in prison, said from his prison in Beaumont.

Before the law took effect in September, a prisoner could get married by having someone else, a proxy, stand in and exchange vows during a ceremony before a justice of the peace. Now, both parties must attend the ceremony, meaning inmates sentenced to life in prison or death can't marry at all.

Source

Should prisoners have a right to marry? Why should they?/ Why should they not?

 

[DrLeftover]

Don't worry, it'll be overturned as soon as a homosexual or two file a challenge.

 

[WHO IS SERAFIN]

I cant seem to stop crying for CRIMINALS.

 

[DrLeftover]

I cant seem to stop crying for CRIMINALS.

I didn't know you were a bleeding heart liberal with the American Criminal Lovers Union.

 

[WHO IS SERAFIN]

I cant seem to stop crying for CRIMINALS.

I didn't know you were a bleeding heart liberal with the American Criminal Lovers Union.

Thats me!

 

[Evil Eye]

Why would one want to marry by proxy? Sounds rather impersonal. Especially considering the general hype surrounding weddings.