alabama marriage 12 years old judicial consent

Nancy Landry, a Republican, said at the time. “If they’re both 16 years old, and they both consent to sexual relations, and they’re about to have a baby, why wouldn’t we want them to be married?” state Rep. The state currently has no minimum marriage age and collects little to no data on child marriages. In California, a bill to set the minimum marriage age at 18 - the state's age of consent - failed in 2017 after objections from lawmakers and liberal groups such as the state's American Civil Liberties Union. Opposition to reform in California, New Hampshire

Christy Zito, who voted alongside Zollinger against the measure, said she was concerned about protecting the 'sanctity of family.' She added that there are sufficient safeguards in state law - such as a judicial review of underage marriages - to prevent older men from exploiting young girls, an issue she said she has not seen evidence of in Idaho. Bryan Zollinger details legislative proposals in Boise, Idaho, on Feb. The Democratic sponsor of the Idaho legislation, which would have set the marriage age at 16, said that she thought her bill was 'a modest compromise.' Rep. Idaho has the highest rate of child marriages in the U.S., according to a national report from Unchained at Last, an organization dedicated to ending the practice in the U.S. In California and Louisiana, opponents of change have argued that raising the minimum marriage age is an ineffective solution since other child welfare laws already can prevent young girls from being exploited.And other states, such as Massachusetts, have raised doubts about the extent of the problem, even as experts note that survivors are often reluctant to come forward.

The divide has sometimes created unlikely alliances between conservative politicians and liberal-leaning groups, including the ACLU and Planned Parenthood. 'But basically marriage is a contract between people that shouldn't require government permission.'Įven as more states take action to end child marriage, concerns about government overreach, along with scant data about the extent of the problem, have driven skepticism to reform across the country. 'Obviously, I'm against child marriage,' the GOP lawmaker told NBC News.

Alabama marriage 12 years old judicial consent