Push for Federal and State Action to End Child Marriage in the United States

In 2024, Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) re-filed the Child Marriage Prevention Act with Sens. Brian Schatz (D-HI) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) as co-sponsors; Rep. Gwen Moore (D-WI) introduced companion legislation. The bill would set a nationwide minimum age of 18 for U.S. petitioners and foreign beneficiaries of spouse and fiancé visas, bar child marriages on any federal property—including overseas bases—and repeal a “proxy marriage” defense in the Military Code. Advocates are courting Republican legislators to broaden bipartisan support.

Advocates seeking Republicans to support ending child marriage in the U.S.

Seventeen states and the District of Columbia have enacted a complete ban on child marriage (no exceptions). Oklahoma’s ban is scheduled to take effect on November 1.

Newsweek

Conversely, 33 states still permit child marriage under various exemptions; California, Mississippi and New Mexico have no statutory minimum age.

Newsweek

A report by UnChained At Last found nearly 315,000 children were legally married in the United States between 2000 and 2021, most of them girls married to adult men. About 34,875 of those marriages occurred in California, with some cases involving children as young as 10. Researchers link child marriage to limited education, higher poverty risk, health issues, and increased vulnerability to abuse and trafficking.

Advocates seeking Republicans to support ending child marriage in the U.S.

Casey Carter Swegman, director of public policy at the Tahirih Justice Center, said the United States has long condemned child marriage abroad while domestic laws still allow exploitation “under the guise of marriage.” The Center argues the federal bill would send a clear message that child marriage is unacceptable everywhere.

Advocates seeking Republicans to support ending child marriage in the U.S.

Advocates also cite the United Nations Human Rights Committee’s 2023 observation that the United States remains obligated under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights to prohibit marriage under age 18.

Advocates seeking Republicans to support ending child marriage in the U.S.

• “For years, the United States has condemned child marriage abroad while failing to address the ways our own laws leave children here and around the world vulnerable to exploitation under the guise of marriage,” — Casey Carter Swegman, Tahirih Justice Center

Advocates seeking Republicans to support ending child marriage in the U.S.

• “The U.S. is obligated to address child marriage under the international human rights treaties it has ratified, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights,” — UnChained, founder and executive

Advocates seeking Republicans to support ending child marriage in the U.S.

• “No child in California should be entered into a marriage before they are old enough to vote, sign a contract, or file for divorce,” — Kevin Bolling, Secular Student Alliance

Newsweek

Advocacy groups are urging Republican members of Congress to co-sponsor the Child Marriage Prevention Act, emphasizing bipartisan action to close immigration loopholes and federal-property exemptions. In California, Assembly Bill 1267—authored by Republican Assemblymember Diane Dixon and Democrats Gail Pellerin, Cottie Petrie-Norris, and Sharon Quirk Silva—has cleared the Assembly (66-8) and the Senate Judiciary Committee and awaits a Senate floor vote. The Oklahoma ban will become operative on November 1, marking the latest state-level step toward nationwide prohibition.

Newsweek