New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed legislation this week raising the age of consent to be married in the state to 18, banning all minors.
The legislation will take effect 30 days after becoming law. It would level a fine and a misdemeanor charge against those who issued marriage licenses to individuals under 18.Rhode Island Gov. Daniel McKee signed legislation last monthDelaware, Minnesota, New Jersey and Pennsylvania all ban minors from marrying.
Nearly 300,000 individuals under 18 were legally married in the USA from 2000 to 2018, according to a study from Unchained at Last,Nearly all of the minors in the study were 16 or 17, though some were as young as 10. Most of the children were married to adult men an average of four years older.Our goal is to create a safe and engaging place for users to connect over interests and passions. In order to improve our community experience, we are temporarily suspending article commentingThe U.S.