Missouri State Senator on ’12-Year-Old Marriage’

On April 12 2023, a Reddit user shared a post to r/WhitePeopleTwitter, claiming that Missouri State Sen. Mike Moon (R) argued in favor of child marriage:

Although the post was submitted in image (screenshot) format, a Twitter “play” button suggested that the original tweet contained video. Text of the tweet read:

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!”

On April 13 2023, a similar post was shared to Imgur:

Several images were included with the Imgur post, the first of which originated with the Springfield News-Leader. It was published on April 12 2023, and reported the comments were legitimate and made on April 11 2023.

Two lines of the article were visible in a preview, and Moon was quoted in the first two paragraphs:

During debate Tuesday [April 11 2023] on a bill banning gender-affirming care for transgender minors, Missouri State Senator Mike Moon suggested children as young as 12 should have the right to marry with parental permission.

“Do you know any kids who have been married at age 12? I do. And guess what? They’re still married,” Moon said in response to questioning by Democratic state Representative Peter Merideth. A clip of the interaction has garnered attention on social media.

The outlet added that Moon had previously spoken favorably of child marriage, and more than once:

A southwest Missouri Republican from Ash Grove, Moon’s support of child marriage in some instances has been long documented. In 2018 Missouri passed a law raising the marriage age in the state from 15 to 16 and requiring parental permission for older teenagers to marry. Moon opposed the bill at the time — citing the same anecdote of a couple he met in college who had married one another at age 12.

Another screenshot on Imgur showed a tweet with video; the submitter linked to a brief clip of Moon’s remarks:

On April 12 2023, social media posts asserted State Sen. Mike Moon (R-Missouri) made comments indicating he supported marriages involving 12-year-olds. Although screenshots of tweets were common, video of Moon’s remarks also circulated. The Springfield News-Leader reported on Moon’s comments, noting that had Moon shared the anecdote in prior legislative sessions.