Missouri governor signs law banning marriage of 15-year-olds [View all]
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Missouri — long the easiest state in the nation for 15-year-olds to wed — has outlawed the practice.
Republican Gov. Mike Parson on Friday signed into law Senate Bill 655. Before, Missouri was one of 25 states with no minimum marriage age. And Missouri was the only state that allowed children age 15 to marry with only one parent’s approval, even if the other parent objected. Children younger than 15 needed a judge’s approval.
In March, The Kansas City Star published a series on child marriage showing that Missouri possessed the dubious honor of the most lenient law in the nation allowing 15-year-olds to wed.
The result was that Missouri had become destination wedding spot for 15-year-old brides, with 1,000 15-year-olds being wed in the state between 1999 and 2017. Many of them were marrying men age 21 or older, in effect allowing the girls to marry their rapists.
Read more: http://www.pjstar.com/articles/20180713/missouri-governor-signs-law-banning-marriage-of-15-year-olds
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