West Virginia lawmakers have advanced a bill that would effectively ban child marriage.
According to the Associated Press, the GOP-led House of Delegates approved the legislation 84-13 Wednesday with bipartisan support. Under West Virginia’s current law, children as young as 16 can legally get married as long as they obtain parental consent. Those who are younger than 16 can also get married with a judge’s waiver.
The bill, HB 3018, aims to raise West Virginia’s age consent from 16 to 18, and seeks to prohibit child marriage even with permission from a court or parent. The AP reports existing marriages, including those validated in other states, will not be affected.
According to Pew Research, West Virginia has the highest rate of child marriage in the United States. In 2014, approximately seven of every 1,000 15- to 17-year-olds were married in the state; most of those marriages were between a minor and adult. The AP reports 259 girls and 52 boys under 18 were married in West Virginia between 2015 to 2019; some of those minors had reportedly been wed more than once.
Del. Kayla Young (D-Kanawha) was among the lawmakers who supported the bill. She pointed out to WV Metro News that children cannot legally sign most contracts, and marriage shouldn’t be an exception.
“A lot of Republicans see it as part of their pro-life agenda in protecting children and I agree with them. I think that it is,” she said. “There was a little push back because we have some people who, their children were married as children or their parents were married as children. It’s something we see in a lot of older generations, but the times are changing and I think we need to change with them.”
One of the opponents was Harrison County Republican Del. Keith Marple, who argued the bill could push families to secure child marriage in other states.
“The only thing it’s going to do is cause harm and trouble in young people’s lives,” he said.
HB 3018 is now headed to the state Senate.
