Campaigners call for child marriage ban in California

[IwantToRetire]

I heard a news story about this on the BBC earlier today.

And was shocked to hear that to put it bluntly the parents of a girl can agree to her getting married if a judge (I think) rubber stamps it.

The child does not have a voice.

Scary and upsetting personal story from a young woman at 12 (?) being married to a man many years older than her.

And campaigners are trying to make this illegal but ACLU think this shouldn't happen.

I cant find a written version so this is linked to a podcast https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p0mtds6z

( all the ?s are because I am relying on my memory of what I heard. Also cant remember the name of the campaign group who are active.)

I heard the same. At least it has been banned in a number of US states. Marriage at 16 or 17 is still allowed in the UK unfortunately.

In England it’s 18 now. They changed the law.

Courtney Stodden (16) married Doug Hutchinson (50 +) many years ago. I remember being absolutely disgusted by it but more by the media coverage of it.

Almost all focused on the supposed sex appeal of the young teen rather than the perversity of the man. I think on The Rolling Stones also married a 15/16 year old?

This could be a good tool for Republicans against Newsom in the elections. He should get behind change...

Apparenlty it is 16 in Scotland without parental consent.

In Northern Ireland it is 16 but with parental consent.

Both marriage and civil partnership.

But when you hear how the parental consent clause is misused in California, makes you realise its not the safe guard it was surely meant to be.

@IwantToRetire Yeah I agree. I used to think it was fine but I’m now of the view it should be 18 in all the UKs nations. It’s funny because in the not so distant past you had to be 21 without parental consent. So there was a recognition that teens are vulnerable in even the later teens.

Bill Wyman, the Rolling Stones bassist had a sexual relationship with Mandy Smith when she was 13, They married when Smith was 18 in 1989 and Wyman was 52.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mandy_Smith

So a girl of 12 can be married off if her parents and judge approve and the ACLU don't want to ban this!? I mean I knew that the ACLU had some bad takes but this is outrageous. They think it's an infringement of reproductive rights and of the fundamental rights of marriage and don't support a minimum age of 18.

Apparently they think it would

1). force people in abusive relationships further underground (don't quite see it, but maybe they can back this up somehow?)
2). discriminate against young people who want to get married????????????

They think it's an infringement of reproductive rights and of the fundamental rights of marriage and don't support a minimum age of 18.

One word - PIE

California's age of sexual consent is 18. Sex with a child is a crime, either a misdemeanor or a felony depending on the age difference and the facts of the case — unless the perpetrator marries the child first.

...In states that allow marriage before age 18, girls can marry but usually can't get a divorce until they reach the legal age of adulthood, which is 18 in most states.

https://www.unicefusa.org/stories/fight-end-child-marriage-california

It's one thing to make a pragmatic argument to allow child marriage, but to argue for it on ethical terms?????????????????????????????????????????????

How many of the different laws in different regions above apply equally to male as well as female please?
Is it only the girls who get married to older men?

It's interesting how 21 used to be a significant age, I remember my granny saying "key to the door" at 21. I definitely think some things currently with 18 as the age should be raised to 21.

The reports I've read state that the legal age of marriage is the same for boys and girls but the vast majority of those children getting married underage are girls. ( USA)

There are currently 4 US states with no minimum age for marriage

Hopefully the celebs are on the case with a signed letter on its way to the mumsnet lady to sort it all out.

Its the majority who are female.

APP mentioned that you cannot get a divorce under 18, you also can't access a shelter.

Then add in that a number of these marriages occur because of rape/serial assault. If the rapist can get the parents to agree then the charges are dropped.

There's an aspect of this that female children are still seen as just part of a barter system for the benefit of men. ie girls are not allowed to be individuals with the right to their autonomy.

At that coming of age at 21 was when the vast majority of people had left school and 15 or maybe 16 and would be working.

But would probably be part of some sort of apprentiship scheme so it was accepted that you went through a period of leaving education but not yet being a "grown up". ie working, but not being fully qualified.

Wonder what would happen if, given recent studies that says the brain doesn't mature until 26 (or is that just men) that you couldn't do all of those "adult" things until you could demonstrate that your brain was mature.

(Sorry - off topic!)

Apparently in those USA states with no minimum marriage age, it would not be possible to prosecute a man for marrying an infant. As his wife, she would then be legally available for his use.

I heard that on the bbc yesterday. Seems like a truly unholy alliance between some religious fundamentalists and some so-called ‘progressives’.

as of 2025, several US Sates have laws that permit a minor to marry if one of the parties is pregnant or has given birth, typically requiring additional consent from a parent or a judge. Child marriage is currently legal in 34 states with some form of exception.

States that explicitly allow pregnancy to lower the minimum marriage age (often in combination with judicial or parental consent) include:

• Arkansas
• Florida
• Maryland
• New Mexico
• North Carolina
• Ohio
• Oklahoma

Which to my mind looks like a sort of forced consent. ie an adult male can get an underage girl pregnant and then force her into marriage.

https://www.newsweek.com/california-child-marriage-ban-faces-opposition-planned-parenthood-1817362

2023 article in Newsweek.

"The pushback comes out of concerns that imposing an age requirement could set the stage for a slippery slope when it comes to constitutional rights or reproductive choices, specifically that an age requirement could impede a minor's ability to seek an abortion."

Do they think this is a problem in states where there is an age requirement?

How does legalising the rape of underage girls protect their right to avoid pregnancy, particularly in a state like Mississippi where abortion is banned?

I'm failing to understand the logic, but if Planned Parenthood is the main body protecting women's reproductive rights in the US, I'm not surprised that rights have been lost.

This is horrific. And to happen in a supposedly developed and mature democracy. It shows how little the US government, its voters, the ACLU and PP value women.

I actually don't think the USA is as developed as it claims.

Slavery is legal in the USA if you are incarcerated.

The ACLU have lost their way so badly they’ve ended up on another planet!

Are there any other organisations that have turned so badly from presumably doing some good and with genuinely good intentions to this hideous monstrosity fighting against things that are good and sane we see today? I guess their Stonewall chums are impressed.