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You claim that it is "hysterical" to challenge the ability of young girls brought up in distorted and abusinve families to freely consent to marriage. There is nothing hysterical about it. It is responsible and mature to consider the lack of free will involved. Whether a lack of consent could be found as a legal matter, or whether first amendment concerns get in the way of prosecuting, are other matter. But it certainly is not "hysterical" to point out that this is an acute problem begging for a solution.
Let's point out some differences between the situation in colorado city and that of an autonomous 16 year old consenting to marriage.
1. This is pretty important and obvious -- most of these girls do not legally marry their partners. Their partners already have legal wives so most of these girls enter households already consisting of one legal wife and multiple unmarried wives to have unprotected sexual relations with older men.
2. This is more subtle -- most of these "marriages" are initiated by the parents and not the children. So this is not a question of parents consenting to a relationship entered into by a child. It is a question of the child being compelled to consent to a "marriage" arranged by a parent.
3. The child is told by their parents and by the elders in the community that, if they do not consent to marriage they will burn in hell. If they were to reject they would also be shunned and probably thrown out of their homes. Kind of negates the concept of free will, huh?
Again, constraints and slippery slopes may make it difficult to find a meaningful legal solution to this problem (I like the welfare fraud angle myself). But to pretend like it's not a problem is gross and distorted. In fact, I have to question your motives in doing so.
