A Texas man and his girlfriend say they are being forced down the aisle after a judge ordered them to get married or face jail time.
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Josten Bundy, 21, pleaded guilty on July 2 to assault with bodily injury for a February fistfight with the ex-boyfriend of Elizabeth Jaynes, 19, KLTV reported.
“[The ex-boyfriend] had been saying disrespectful things about Elizabeth, so I challenged him to a fight”, Bundy recalled.
“He offered me 15 days in jail and that would have been fine and I asked if I could call my job [to let them know]”, Bundy was quoted as saying.
“I just wonder what would have happened if Hannah said no, had we said, ‘you know judge, we would like to get married on our own terms, ‘” Bundy said. He also noted that he was “raised better”, but that he became protective.
Bundy’s girlfriend, 19-year-old Elizabeth Jaynes, was in court as Judge Rogers popped the question.
Then the judge dropped the bombshell.
If Bundy didn’t make Jaynes his wife within 30 days, he would have to serve 15 days in jail, the judge said. The whole situation was far less romantic than the girlfriend envisioned. “I didn’t even have a white dress”, Jaynes said, according to KLTV. “[The judge] can’t do this about court ordering somebody to be married”.
“It just felt like we weren’t going to be able to have the wedding we wanted”, Jaynes said. “My face was so pink, individuals behind me have been laughing”, she stated. “[At our wedding] I would have worn a black tux with some yellow under it because I’m a Steelers fan”.
Although Jaynes agreed to marry Bundy under the judge’s order she still felt slighted. To qualify for the alternative to prison, Josten had to write Bible verses, attend counseling – and get hitched.
Luckily, the couple seems to love each other very much, and had talked about getting married anyway, despite only being together for a relatively short period of time.
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Constitutional law attorney Blake Bailey told KLTV that forcing a couple to marry is illegal and that the sentence would have been struck down by a higher court. Still, the disgruntled couple is planning a second ceremony, in a church (or perhaps a sports bar; the TV station didn’t specify) when they can save up the money to do things right.
