North Carolina lawmakers unanimously voted to raise the legal age of marriage in the state from 14 to 16, further restricting child marriage but stopping short of outlawing it
North Carolina lawmakers unanimously voted to raise the legal age of marriage in the state from 14 to 16, taking a step to further restrict child marriage but stopping short of outlawing it.
The legislation, passed by the state Senate Tuesday and by the House last week, bars children under the age of 16 from getting married and requires an age gap of four years or smaller between a 16- or 17-year-old and the person they marry.“While the legislation falls short of raising the age of marriage to 18, the governor supports this step toward ending child marriage in North Carolina and more protections for children,” said Mary Scott Winstead, a spokesperson for the governor.
The first draft of the bill prohibited anyone under age 18 from marrying, but it was later amended in a Senate committee after some lobbyist groups argued banning minors from getting married might lead more teenagers to choose abortion if they are pregnant and unable to get married, said state Sen. Danny Earl Britt, Jr., a Republican and co-sponsor of the bill. Lawmakers pushing the bill through wanted to avoid any roadblocks that would kill the legislation, he said.
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