Gov Gavin Newsom called it a "long overdue measure to protect young Californians".

California has officially banned child marriage, with Governor Gavin Newsom signing legislation to end the practice that is still legal in 32 US states.

The new law, which will come into effect on 1 January, states people must be 18 to get married in the Golden State.

Newsom called it a “long overdue measure to protect young Californians and minors”. He signed the bill into law with Courtney Stodden, whose parents allowed her to marry a 50-year-old Hollywood actor when she was just 16.

  • dogslayeggs@lemmy.world
    13·
    2 days ago

    Do you think all underage marriages involve pedophiles? Do you not think there are some 16 year olds who legitimately want to get married to each other? Have you ever known a 16 year old?

    • magic_smoke@lemmy.blahaj.zoneEnglish
      10·
      2 days ago

      So do you think allowing two kids to make an obviously bad fucking decision is the same as allowing them to take medication prescribed by a psychiatrist?

      Or only when that medication makes you personally uncomfortable because it doesn’t fit into your agenda?

      • dogslayeggs@lemmy.world
        1·
        2 days ago

        I have no agenda here. You are arguing with the wrong person. I’m only pointing out that not all marriages involving 16 year old kids is a pedo situation. You called a person a pedo supporter for making a (really stupid) medical argument. I don’t support allowing 16 year olds to get married, but I don’t support calling people pedo supporters for understanding there are nuances and significant edge cases.

    • 2hundredpancakes@lemmy.blahaj.zone
      6·
      2 days ago

      Between 2000 and 2021, nearly 315,000 children were legally entered into marriage across the U.S. The vast majority [86%] were girls wed to adult men.

      You’re right—only 4 in 5 underage marriages involve pedos. A fabulous argument for keeping it legal

      Source

      • dogslayeggs@lemmy.world
        11·
        2 days ago

        “86% were girls to adult men.”

        Now, in that 86% of marriages, how many of those girls were 17 and how many of those adult men were 18 or 19? Even a 20 year old marrying a 17 3/4 year old girl is not a pedo situation, though it is a situation that merits significant scrutiny.

        I don’t support allowing 16 year olds to marry. I am only replying to the idea that any marriage involving a 16 year old is a pedo situation. Even if every single one of your 4 in 5 involve men over 20 and girls under 17, that is still a significant number of marriages that do NOT involve pedos. Again, I’m not arguing for it being legal.

        • 2hundredpancakes@lemmy.blahaj.zone
          2·
          2 days ago

          Now, in that 86% of marriages, how many of those girls were 17 and how many of those adult men were 18 or 19?

          The source covers this, I highly recommend reading it. “An overwhelming majority – some 86% – were girls [aged 16 or 17], and most were wed to adult men an average of 4.02 years their senior.”

          I’m also not saying every situation is a pedo situation; just that problematic (safe to say, predatory) situations represent a too-large percentage. In many cases, these girls are groomed or abused for some time before marriage.

    • Catoblepas@lemmy.blahaj.zone
      5·
      2 days ago

      https://www.hrw.org/feature/2022/09/13/how-do-states-measure-up-child-rights

      Research by Unchained at Last finds that over a quarter million children, some as young as 10, were married in the US between the years 2000-2018. Most child marriages in the US are girls marrying adult men. In fact, many of these marriages occurred at an age or with a spousal age difference that would typically be considered sexual violence.

      Nearly 300,000 minors, under age 18, were legally married in the U.S. between 2000 and 2018, this study found. A few were as young as 10, though nearly all were age 16 or 17. Most were girls wed to adult men an average of four years older.

      There is no legitimate reason for a 16 year old to be marrying someone 20+ years old to get around statutory rape laws, much less ten year olds.

      • dogslayeggs@lemmy.world
        1·
        2 days ago

        I agree with everything you say here. I’m not even arguing that underage marriage should be legal. I’m only telling the person I replied to that just because an organization or person thinks there are reasons that allowing 16 years to be married doesn’t make them a “kiddie fucker” who gets their info from Epstein.

        I also never brought up a 16 year old marrying a 20 year old. I only mentioned that there are a decent number of underage marriages that do not involve pedos. There might be a legitimate reason for a 16 year old to marry another 16 year old, though there is an argument about whether they can enter into an adult contract at 16.