A Missouri state senator is facing criticism after he defended the right of 12-year-old children to get married.

State Sen. Mike Moon, a Republican from Ash Grove, Mo., made his comments during a debate about a proposed bill that would ban gender-affirming care for minors, legislation that he proposed, the Kansas City Star reports.

While responding to a question from a Democrat, Moon said: “Do you know any kids who have been married at age 12? I do. And guess what? They’re still married.”

The Springfield News-Leader reports Moon previously has spoken in support of children as young as 12 being allowed to marry if given parental consent. In 2018, Moon opposed a bill that raised the marriage age in the state from 15 to 16. The new law also requires older teenagers to get parental permission before being allowed to marry.

Democratic state Rep. Peter Meredith challenged Moon’s stance on allowing children to marry during Tuesday’s hearing, the News-Leader reports. Meredith said it contradicts Moon’s claim that the ban gender-affirming care for minors is to protect children.

“I’ve heard you talk about parents’ rights to raise their kids how they want,” Meredith said. “In fact, I just double-checked. You voted no on making it illegal for kids to be married to adults at the age of 12. If their parents consented to it, you said actually, that should be the law because it’s the parents right and the kids right to decide what’s best for them. To be raped by an adult.”

Moon later wrote on Twitter that he was referring to allowing children of similar age to marry with the consent of parents.