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.
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