Several state legislatures intensify efforts to curtail child marriages

Associated Press

NEW YORK

Child marriage wasn’t an issue of note for Virginia state Sen. Jill Vogel until she heard the stories circulating in her district about a man in his early 50s marrying a girl in her midteens, warding off a police investigation of his relationship with her.

Now Vogel is lead sponsor of a bill advancing in Virginia’s legislature that would sharply curtail child marriage.

“Our marriage laws in Virginia are not protecting children,” she said.

A similar measure has been introduced in Maryland, and a pending bill in New York goes even further – it would make the state the first to ban marriage altogether for anyone under 18.

Worldwide, child marriage is a reality for millions of girls. Though the practice is most common in developing countries, critics who argue it exposes many girls to emotional and even physical harm say it poses a largely unseen threat in the United States as well.

“We think we’re so sophisticated, so progressive and ahead of the times, and yet we still see this barbaric behavior,” said Assemblywoman Amy Paulin, sponsor of the bill in New York.

Across the U.S., state laws generally set 18 as the minimum age for marriage, yet every state allows some exceptions. Most states let 16- and 17-year-olds marry if they have parental consent, and several states – including New York, Virginia and Maryland – allow children under 16 to marry if a court official gives approval.

There are no nationwide statistics on child marriage in the U.S., but data from a few states suggests it is far from rare.