Arranged Marriages should be outlawed in the US

What I believe my opponent fails to understand is that those circumstances do happen IN THE US. Yes, I totally agree that these circumstances do occur. However, this is forced marriage, not arranged. As I stated, arranged marriage gives the last choice to the child. Any external intervention from the parents during this period makes it forced, not arranged, which are two entirely different things. The statistics my opponent used to show that most children in eastern cultures want arranged marriages are just that from EASTERN countries But arranged marriage started in Eastern countries. Then, when these people immigrate to the west they bring that tradition with them. In the United States, "dating" is the cultural norm. Yes, dating is the cultural norm, but that does not mean that we should totally deny the fact that other cultures, who live in the diverse USA, also have their own norms which they wish to continue. The majority of the arranged marriages in the US have one or both spouses saying they didn"t want it (Batabyal). Well, firstly, I can't judge the validity of this statement as you haven't given links (especially without statistics, with the general statement of "majority"). Secondly, as I have said for the third time now, if the spouses did not want it then it is NOT arranged, rather forced. I feel like Pro is not taking this into account. Therefore my opponent cannot state his/her statistics from Delhi and other Eastern areas and use that as acceptable evidence. The statistics were merely to disprove your generalisation that all children are forced into the marriages. Therefore they can be applied quite effectively. Also, if these are the children who are immigrating into the US, then it makes all the difference what they think. That evidence isn"t even valid because the majority of those polls are monitored by parents therefore the child is still under fear of disownment This is a subjective opinion which has not been reinforced by any factual evidence, and therefore cannot be taken into account. We are assuming here that our Western society is brilliant and free, and that those who live in the Eastern societies cannot have an opinion. I would also like to respond to my opponent"s second point. Divorce rates do not show "happy healthy relationships." In Eastern society, divorce is scorned upon so consequently there wouldn"t be as many divorces. The US on the other hand, is more "free" on those matters and our culture allows for FREEDOM if decision. I am not saying divorce rates aren"t problematic, just that they don"t apply here. You are totally ignoring the facts here! In these countries they believe that love blossoms after marriage, and therefore divorce is something which they frown upon because of that. Divorce is such an easy option for western marriages when things don't go their way, but eastern marriages say that one should try their very very best to repair the damage. Again, you have used no evidence to support this claim, so we must assume that it is a subjective opinion. My opponent has also failed to respond to my moral standards argument, in which I stated that these lifestyles cause many problems for children, and many lead to suicide. I extend that argument and hope my opponent will respond to such a key issue You keep using this word "most" or "majority". Without hard facts, these types of claims don't pass. Again, the validity of this argument cannot be affirmed as we have no evidence to prove it. For the sake of it though, I would just like to say that the answer to this problem does not involve outlawing arranged marriage, rather educating those people who deem it necessary to attack someone for their culture. Pro gives us fanciful facts about Eastern societies, and has totally forgotten about his uneducated points about "slavery" and the articles in American law. It is clear that he is using his own opinions on the matter, generalising each and every case of arranged marriage. Furthermore, he keeps getting confused between forced marriage and arranged, something which could harm his points in the long run.