Bill to Ban Child Marriage Makes Its Way Through Va. General Assembly

danjoseph | March 14, 2016
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The Virginia General Assembly is considering legislation that would raise the state's legal age of marriage to 16.

Under current law, Virginians as young as 12 can legally get married if the child is pregnant and has the consent of a parent. Additionally, teenagers who are in a marriage are not legally permitted to go to court if they claim to be in an abusive relationship.

The bill has bipartisan support and has already passed the Virginia Senate. Gov. Terry McAuliffe is expected to sign the bill if, as expected, it makes it to his desk. 

“A child who’s 13 and pregnant — it’s rarely the case that the 13-year-old is marrying a 17-year-old,” says Virginia State Sen. Jill Vogel, (R-Fauquier) whose bill sets 16 as the minimum age for marriage. "It’s more often the case that it is a child marrying somebody decades older than they are.”

Vogel’s bill would make it so that youths between 16 and 18 years of age would have to petition the court for a marriage license.

The bill would also require teens between the ages of 16 and 18 to petition the court for a marriage license. A judge could then deny the marriage license if he believes the teens are being coerced into a union against their will, or if they are not mature enough to marry.

Vogel claims that since there are laws already on the books which make statutory rape illegal, the state should apply a marriage law that is consistent with those regulations for teenagers who become pregnant.

“They are truly victims in every way,” said Vogel. “The perpetrators use marriage as a veil to protect themselves from prosecution.”

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