Gov Gavin Newsom called it a "long overdue measure to protect young Californians".

California has officially banned child marriage, with Governor Gavin Newsom signing legislation to end the practice that is still legal in 32 US states.

The new law, which will come into effect on 1 January, states people must be 18 to get married in the Golden State.

Newsom called it a “long overdue measure to protect young Californians and minors”. He signed the bill into law with Courtney Stodden, whose parents allowed her to marry a 50-year-old Hollywood actor when she was just 16.

  • InEnduringGrowStrong@sh.itjust.works
    42·
    3 days ago

    From Wikipedia:

    Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Washington and Oklahoma do not allow underage marriage. The other states allow an underage person to marry in the following circumstances:

    If one or more of the following apply:

    • consent of the parents or legal guardians of the >minor
    • consent of a court clerk or judge
    • if the minor is emancipated.

    Or in exceptional circumstances if one or more of the following circumstances apply:

    • consent of a superior court judge, rather than a local judge, is required
    • if one of the parties is pregnant
    • if the minor has given birth to a child

    Basically, in these places, there’s a loophole where offenders can marry their rape victims after the fact to make it look proper for the church or something. That and also allow parents or guardians to sell minors into arranged marriages.

    I wonder if anyone was dumb enough to oppose this ban and if so we should list them.

    • fipto@lemmy.world
      191·
      3 days ago

      https://calmatters.org/politics/2026/09/california-child-marriage/

      Unfortunately, Planned Parenthood and the ACLU are pro-child marriage and they spend big to keep it legal.

      Children have a right to marry, the ACLU argues, and stripping them of that right would take away a pathway to their emancipation and independent healthcare decisions. For Planned Parenthood, the freedom for children to marry is about allowing people reproductive choice and bodily autonomy.

      But their efforts have repeatedly failed in California, where Planned Parenthood and the ACLU have lobbied hard against restricting child marriage, although those groups have largely stayed silent on the issue in other Democratic-controlled states.

      In a June opposition letter, the organization wrote, “Prohibiting minors from marrying in every case is a departure from California’s longstanding commitment to honoring minors’ ability to make important personal decisions for themselves, particularly in the realm of reproductive autonomy.”

      These two organizations are entirely misled and spreading misleading information on this issue and are harming kids (vast majority are young girls) with that rhetoric above. Emancipation and reproductive autonomy should not be tied to marriage in the first place.

      • Taldan@lemmy.world
        2·
        2 days ago

        I don’t disagree with their reasoning. This is an area where we’d want studies to investigate if their argument has merit

        I think the data would show the case they’re arguing for is uncommon, making it a poor defense of child marriage, but it’s good to verify initial feelings with data

      • dogslayeggs@lemmy.world
        32·
        3 days ago

        I understand both orgs’ stances, honestly. I don’t think I fully agree with them, but if two 17 year old kids want to marry and have supportive parents, then I’m OK with that. Two 14 year old kids? I’m not OK with that. A 17 and 16 year old? I’m probably not OK with it but could keep an open mind. Not all underage marriages are sex slavery or pregnancy traps or arranged marriages or other harmful situations. The issue is there is not enough white area, too much black area, and very subjective grey area. There is more harm in allowing it and not enough good.

        I’m glad CA changed their laws, but I do understand the arguments against it.

    • atomicbocks@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
      6·
      3 days ago

      It’s interesting to point out too that some of these states, like Oklahoma, only joined the list within the last year as well.

    • anon6789@lemmy.world
      5·
      3 days ago

      CalMatters (Click on Votes)

      In the assembly, it looks like 8 Republicans voted against and 5 more abstained.

      ACLU California Action and the City of Mission Viejo also opposed the legislation. (Click on Supporters and Opponents to read the ACLU’s opinion.)