California bans marriage and domestic partnerships for minors

California has banned marriage and domestic partnerships for anyone under 18, ending a system that allowed minors of any age to marry with parental consent and a court order. Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 1267 on Sept. 30, making California the 18th state to prohibit child marriage without exceptions.

The measure, authored by Assemblymember Gail Pellerin and sponsored by Unchained At Last and the California Commission on the Status of Women and Girls, sets a minimum marriage age of 18. It also removes an exception that allowed minors to enter domestic partnerships. Child marriage remains legal under varying restrictions in 32 other states, according to NPR.

“This is a long overdue measure to protect young Californians and minors,” Newsom said in a statement reported by The Guardian. “Today, California kids are safer than ever before.”

Newsom signed the bill alongside advocate Courtney Stodden, who married actor Doug Hutchison at 16 with her parents’ permission and has since campaigned against child marriage. “California is a victory, but I’m not stopping here,” Stodden said in a statement reported by The Guardian. “I will keep fighting until children are protected from marriage in all 50 states.”

The law follows a nearly decade-long campaign by survivors and advocacy groups. “The heart of this effort has always been the survivors,” Pellerin said after the signing. “They told us what it means to be a child in a marriage you did not freely choose.” Unchained At Last says 9,000 children are married in California every year, The Guardian reported.

Congress is considering a broader response. In July, Rep. Gwen Moore and Sens. Dick Durbin, Brian Schatz and Kirsten Gillibrand introduced the Child Marriage Prevention Act, which aims to push states toward a minimum marriage age of 18. Its sponsors cited advocacy groups’ analysis of state records showing that more than 314,000 minors were legally married in the United States from 2000 through 2021, including girls as young as 10.

Supporters say minors can face legal barriers to hiring a lawyer, filing for divorce or obtaining protection from abuse. But advocates disagree over parts of the federal bill. Fraidy Reiss, founder of Unchained At Last, supports proposed financial incentives for states that ban child marriage but objects to grants for states to study the practice. She also criticizes a provision that would allow some minors as young as 16 to qualify for U.S. spousal visas under certain circumstances, arguing it could facilitate trafficking under the guise of marriage. Some Republican lawmakers in Missouri have opposed state bans, arguing they interfere with parental authority, NPR reported.

The issue extends far beyond the United States. The United Nations calls child marriage a “human rights violation” and estimates that 12 million girls become child brides each year. It has set a goal of ending the practice by 2030. NPR reported that Sierra Leone, England, the Philippines and the Dominican Republic have passed laws since 2021 setting the marriage age at 18 without exceptions. Such laws do not necessarily end the practice: In India, where marriage under 18 is illegal, a national survey found that one in five women ages 20 to 24 had married before turning 18.