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> But the fact is fathers could marry their daughters and mothers could marry their sons to avoid taxes before that law was passed, yet it wasn't done.

No fathers cannot marry their children. Nor can mothers. That is illegal in every state I believe.

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That's true: in US you can legally marry a child ("the youngest girls to marry in 2000-2010 were three Tennessee 10-year-old girls who married men aged 24, 25, and 31, respectively, in 2001", https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Child_marriage_in_the_United_S...), but not your own child.

Although I'm sure there are ways around it if you are wealthy enough.

(ps "Human Rights Watch pointed out that Afghanistan has a tougher law on child marriage than parts of the United States")

Tennessee law has changed and there are now minimum ages. Surprisingly, there is no minimum age in CA; it's up to the courts.

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