Local & State
California child marriage ban awaits Newsom’s signature after years of blocked attempts
PN Team • 2 months ago
California lawmakers have passed Assembly Bill 1267, which would end the state's current law allowing minors to marry with parental and judicial consent. The measure, authored by Assemblymember Gail Pellerin, cleared the Legislature with near-unanimous support in August and now awaits Governor Gavin Newsom's decision by September 30.
California is one of just three states, along with New Mexico and Mississippi, with no minimum marriage age. An estimated 9,000 minors marry in the state each year, mostly girls wedding adult men, according to the advocacy group Unchained at Last. Previous bans failed for nearly a decade, largely due to opposition from the ACLU and Planned Parenthood, who argued restrictions would undermine minors' reproductive autonomy and access to independent healthcare. This year, facing pressure from federal defunding efforts and increased reliance on state support, Planned Parenthood stayed neutral while the ACLU maintained its opposition. Advocates, including survivors of child marriage, say the bill closes a loophole that has effectively legalized relationships otherwise considered statutory rape under state law.
Sources:
Sentiment
- Mississippi Mississippi is grouped among states lacking minimum marriage age laws, implying a negative practice.
- New Mexico New Mexico is grouped among states lacking minimum marriage age laws, implying a negative practice.
- Gavin Newsom Newsom is mentioned as the governor who will decide on the bill, a neutral-to-slightly-positive procedural role.
- California California is described factually as one of few states without a marriage age minimum, a neutral contextual mention with slight negative undertone offset by reform efforts.