Children and youth

Newsom Signs Law Banning Child Marriage in California

Is a total ban on child marriage the only way to protect California's kids or does judicial screening already safeguard teens' rights?

Published 2 hours ago

Newsom Signs Law Banning Child Marriage in California

Story

Above: Gavin Newsom speaks on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly in New York City on Sept. 22. Image credit: Michael Kappeler/picture alliance/Getty Images

The Facts

California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed legislation Wednesday setting 18 as the minimum age to marry or enter a domestic partnership, making it the 18th state to ban child marriage without exception since 2018.
CalMatters
Daily Mail on Instagram
Fox 40
The measure repeals provisions that let minors wed with parental consent and judicial approval. Newsom described it as a "long overdue measure to protect young Californians and minors," according to a statement from his office.
CalMatters
Governor of California
Until the signing, California was one of three states with no minimum marriage age, alongside Mississippi and New Mexico. A child of any age could marry with one parent's written consent and a judge's sign-off.
Equality Now
Fox 40
Assemblymember Gail Pellerin, a Santa Cruz Democrat and one of the bill's authors, said the effort spanned more than nine years and credited survivors who described coercion and abuse hidden behind the appearance of consent.
CalMatters
Governor of California
Unchained At Last, which sponsored the bill, estimates that about 34,875 girls were married in California between 2000 and 2021 and that 86% of all children wed in the U.S. in that period were girls, most to adult men.
BBC News
Equality Now
According to a report by the International Center for Research on Women, teenage girls who marry are more likely to experience poverty, drop out of high school, and develop health conditions such as diabetes or cancer.
CalMatters
Fox 40
International Center for Research on Women

Sources Split

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CENTER

RIGHT

ESTAB
CRIT

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PRO
ESTAB

The Spin

Narrative A

No child belongs in a marriage license line, and a parent's signature should never be able to hand a teenager over to an adult predator. Children can't hire a lawyer, sign a lease or even walk out the front door; they have no real way to say no, which makes any claim of consent meaningless. Closing this loophole finally puts California's youth ahead of the adults exploiting them.

Chelsea Clinton on X

Sfchronicle

Narrative B

California already built a careful screening process, with separate court interviews, counseling requirements and judicial review before any minor could marry. A blanket ban tosses out that case-by-case judgment and strips pregnant and parenting teens of a fundamental right the Constitution protects. Real safeguards beat a one-size-fits-all rule.

San Diego Superior Court

California State Senate

Narrative C

America's contradiction is hard to ignore: it has fought fiercely over marriage equality, but over two dozen states allow minors to enter marriage. That exposes a troubling double standard — protecting adult choice can become fiercely partisan, while protecting children from adult institutions remains uneven. A country that claims to champion freedom should also fully protect childhood.

Bev on X