California Bans Child Marriage Under New Law Signed By Governor Newsom

California has banned child marriage after Governor Gavin Newsom signed legislation on Wednesday establishing 18 as the minimum age for marriage or entering a domestic partnership. The law, which takes effect on January 1, 2027, ends a system under which minors could marry with parental consent and approval from a judge. California previously had no specific statutory minimum age for marriage.

Newsom described the legislation as a long-overdue measure aimed at protecting young Californians and minors. He signed the bill alongside Courtney Stodden, who married actor Doug Hutchinson at 16. Stodden has since become an advocate for ending child marriage and said California's new law represented progress while pledging to continue campaigning for similar protections across the United States.

California is the 18th US state to prohibit child marriage since 2018, according to data cited by child-marriage advocacy groups. The practice remains legal under varying circumstances in 32 states. Over the past decade, states have increasingly changed their laws governing marriages involving minors, although the rules and exceptions differ from one state to another.

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Data compiled by child-marriage advocacy groups from state marriage records indicates that about 314,000 minors were legally married in the United States between 2000 and 2021. The marriages included cases involving children as young as 10. According to Unchained At Last, an organisation working to end forced and child marriage in the US, at least 66,415 of those marriages involved brides who were below the age at which sexual relations would constitute a crime.

The California legislation has renewed attention on the legal status of child marriage elsewhere in the country. Supporters of nationwide bans argue that minors may be vulnerable to coercion and may have limited ability to leave marriages once they are entered into. Advocates, including Stodden, are calling for similar restrictions in the remaining states where marriage involving minors is still permitted under certain conditions.

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