Shining a Light on Child Marriage in America
"In the absence of light, darkness prevails."
— Hellboy (2004)
That line has stayed with me for over twenty years. When it comes to evil to the kind of harm that flourishes precisely because most people do not know it is happening it is profoundly true. And few issues in America illustrate this more clearly than child marriage.
Most Americans assume child marriage is something that happens in other countries. They have no idea it is happening here, legally, right now.
In 2019, Brazil banned child marriage for those under 16. Colombia recently went further, setting 18 as the absolute minimum with no exceptions for pregnancy or parental consent. America has not kept pace. As of 2025, only about a dozen states have banned child marriage outright defining 18 as the minimum age with no exceptions. In many other states, minors as young as 16, 15, or even 14 can still legally marry under certain circumstances, including parental consent, judicial approval, or pregnancy. This must end.
There have been documented cases in the United States where American girls were legally married at age 10, 11, or 12 to men aged 40 and older. Since 2007, nearly 8,700 spousal or fiancé visa approvals have involved a minor, including some as young as 13, married to an adult U.S. citizen. California remains one of five states with no minimum marriage age whatsoever.
I recognize that some women reading this may have married before the age of 18, or know a mother or grandmother who did and lived a happy life. That history deserves respect. But looking forward, no young person should enter into marriage before 18. It gives girls the greatest opportunity for education, autonomy, and a future they choose for themselves. We have the power to build a better world. We should use it.
America is not the best country in the world for girls. Most people have no idea how bad it truly is. It is time to change that. It is time to shine a light.
Why Child Marriage Is Not Just Wrong — It Is a Trap
Child marriage is a legal mechanism that gives adult men nearly complete control over a child's life before she reaches adulthood and it does so with the full blessing of the state.
In the states that permit it, child marriage functions as a de facto "get out of jail free" card for statutory rape. Sexual conduct within marriage is exempt from criminal prosecution in most jurisdictions, meaning that marrying a child can legally immunize an abuser from accountability.
Once married, a minor cannot file for divorce until she reaches 18. She may not be able to access a domestic violence shelter. She may not be able to obtain a restraining order. If she runs away, she is not treated as a victim she is classified as a runaway and returned to her abuser.
This is not marriage. It is captivity with legal paperwork.
The adult husband can spend years physically abusing and psychologically conditioning a young girl breaking her will and her sense of self before she ever reaches an age at which the law begins to recognize her as a person with rights. By the time she turns 18, she may have been conditioned to believe that her only purpose is to serve her husband.
The logic is simple and the law should reflect it. If a girl is too young to legally file for divorce, she is too young to legally get married.
America is not the best country for girls. Most people have no idea this is happening. It is time to say it plainly and loudly, until it stops.
Policy Statement: End Child Marriage — Restore Equal Protection
Equal protection under the law must mean exactly that for everyone, without exception.
Yet in the United States today, child marriage remains a legal loophole that strips minors the vast majority of them girls of the very constitutional protections our system promises. A minor cannot legally sign a contract, open a bank account, or leave home without being treated as a runaway. But in many states, that same minor can be placed into a marriage sometimes to her rapist or abuser and once married, she is denied rights that every other married adult possesses. She may not be able to file for divorce. She may not be able to enter a domestic violence shelter. She may not even be able to retain legal control over her own body.
This is not freedom. It is not equality. And it is not justice.
The United States must join the growing number of nations that have recognized child marriage for what it is. A human rights violation. The minimum age of marriage must be 18, with no exceptions. Anything less is a betrayal of our constitutional commitment to liberty and equal protection.
Congress and state legislatures must act to:
- Ban all marriages under the age of 18, with no exceptions.
- Ensure that married minors are not denied access to legal protections, including the right to divorce and access to domestic safety services.
- Treat child marriage as a form of child abuse not as a cultural or parental choice.
The law must never be used as a tool to trap children in adult obligations while denying them adult rights.
Legal Argument: Child Marriage Violates the Fourteenth Amendment
I. Equal Protection Clause
The Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution guarantees that no state shall deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.
Yet in states that permit child marriage, minors are treated as adults for the purpose of entering marriage while simultaneously being treated as minors for virtually every other legal purpose. Including the ability to file for divorce, access domestic violence shelters or restraining orders, and sign legal contracts for housing or legal aid.
This inconsistency produces a direct and demonstrable inequality. Married minors, unlike adult spouses, are denied the legal tools to protect themselves from abuse, abandonment, or harm. They cannot access the same legal recourse available to every other married person in the United States.
This dual classification adult for marriage, child for protection cannot survive rational basis review, let alone the heightened scrutiny it deserves. A state cannot justify treating a child differently from every other married individual while simultaneously denying her the means to protect herself.
II. Due Process Clause
The Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment protects fundamental rights, including bodily autonomy, freedom from unlawful restraint, access to the courts, and the right to both enter and exit a marriage.
When a child is legally married but cannot legally divorce, she is trapped in a legal relationship from which there is no exit. That is a violation of substantive due process. In Planned Parenthood v. Casey, the Supreme Court affirmed that personal decisions concerning family and bodily integrity lie at the heart of liberty protected by the Constitution. Forcing a child to remain in a marriage with no legal recourse is an unconstitutional deprivation of that liberty.
III. Gender Discrimination
In practice, the overwhelming majority of child marriage victims are girls. While child marriage statutes are written in gender neutral language, their real world impact falls disproportionately on female minors, which implicates intermediate scrutiny under the Equal Protection framework.
Under that standard, the state must demonstrate an important governmental interest served by permitting child marriage, and that the law is substantially related to achieving it. No such interest exists. Cultural tradition, parental preference, religious practice, and pregnancy do not constitute sufficient governmental justification for denying girls access to courts, safety resources, and equal legal standing. These laws fail that test and they should be struck down accordingly.
IV. Conclusion
Child marriage as currently practiced under United States law creates a distinct and legally subordinate class of individuals married minors who are denied the rights and protections afforded to every other spouse. This represents a clear and simultaneous violation of the Equal Protection Clause, the Due Process Clause, and the guarantee of gender equity embedded in the Fourteenth Amendment.
Courts and legislators must recognize the urgency of this legal contradiction and act to bring American law into alignment with both the Constitution and international human rights standards. The status quo is not a neutral position. It is a choice to let children be harmed.
Draft Legislation
Child Marriage Elimination Act of 2027
120th Congress · 1st Session · H.R.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Mr. Kincaid of Washington introduced the following bill, which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary and, in addition, to the Committee on Education and the Workforce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
A BILL to prohibit the marriage of individuals under the age of 18, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
Section 1. Short Title
This Act may be cited as the "Child Marriage Elimination Act of 2027" or the "No Exceptions Act."
Section 2. Findings
Congress finds the following:
- Marriage is a legal contract requiring informed consent and legal capacity, which minors under the age of 18 are legally presumed not to possess.
- Despite this presumption, many states permit individuals under 18 to marry under exceptions including parental consent, judicial approval, or pregnancy, resulting in forced or coerced marriages that cause serious and lasting harm.
- These exceptions disproportionately affect girls and produce long term consequences including poverty, domestic violence, interrupted education, and the complete loss of legal autonomy.
- Married minors are routinely denied access to divorce, domestic violence protections, and shelter services rights and remedies available to every adult spouse constituting a violation of the Equal Protection and Due Process Clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment.
- A uniform national standard prohibiting child marriage is necessary to protect minors and enforce their constitutional rights.
Section 3. National Minimum Marriage Age
(a) Prohibition. No individual may enter into a valid marriage in any state, territory, or possession of the United States, or under any tribal jurisdiction recognized by federal law, unless that individual is at least 18 years of age at the time the marriage is solemnized.
(b) No Exceptions. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no exception shall be granted to subsection (a) on the basis of:
- (1) parental or guardian consent;
- (2) judicial authorization;
- (3) emancipation;
- (4) pregnancy or childbirth; or
- (5) any other circumstance.
Section 4. Compliance and Funding Conditions
(a) State Compliance Requirement. As a condition of receiving federal funds under the programs listed in subsection (b), each state shall, within 12 months of the date of enactment of this Act, enact legislation establishing 18 as the minimum legal age of marriage without exception.
(b) Affected Programs. The federal programs subject to the compliance requirement in subsection (a) include:
- (1) Grants under the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA);
- (2) Maternal and Child Health Services Block Grant (Title V of the Social Security Act);
- (3) Legal Assistance for Victims Grants; and
- (4) Title IV-E Foster Care and Adoption Assistance Program.
Section 5. Civil Enforcement and Remedies
(a) Civil Action. Any minor who is married in violation of this Act, or who is denied access to legal protections including the right to divorce or access to domestic violence shelter as a result of a marriage solemnized before the age of 18, shall have a cause of action under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 for the violation of constitutional rights.
(b) Department of Justice Oversight. The Attorney General shall monitor state compliance with this Act and submit annual reports to Congress on implementation, enforcement, and any violations.
Section 6. Severability
If any provision of this Act or its application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the remainder of the Act and its application to other persons or circumstances shall not be affected.
Section 7. Effective Date
This Act shall take effect 180 days after the date of enactment.
Comments
Post a Comment