Speaking of states with bad reputations:

Known for its coastlines, mountains and the state that was “first in flight,” North Carolina has also developed a more dubious reputation recently: as a regional destination for adults who want to marry children.

That’s not great. The state is now looking to increase the minimum marriage age from 14 to 16.

“We will have moved the needle and made North Carolina no longer at the very bottom of the barrel of states,” said Drew Reisinger, the register of deeds in Buncombe County. But, he said, “we’re still going to be putting a lot of children in harm’s way.”

Ah, yes, it’s like the classic saying goes: “Aim for not being the very bottom of the barrel. Even if you miss, you’ll maybe be slightly less terrible than you are now”.

A hat tip to the anonymous reader who pointed me to this story. When passing the link along, they stated “[D]on’t, uh, don’t worry about crediting me or anything”.