California is on the verge of outlawing child marriage, as a bill to raise the state's minimum marriage age to 18 with no exceptions is set to be considered by the Senate. Assembly Bill 1267 aims to end a practice that allows minors to wed, a stance that has drawn advocacy from individuals who were married as children.
California is one of 33 states that permit minors to marry and is among only three with no minimum age requirement. The current law allows minors to marry with judicial approval, which involves an interview with the minor and a parent or guardian to identify potential coercion.
Former child bride Courtney Stodden, who married actor Doug Hutchison at 16 with parental consent, is a prominent advocate for the bill. Stodden has described the experience as grooming and an abuse of minors, stating that predators exploit perceived maturity in young individuals. "This is what predators don’t think about: their victims grow up," Stodden told CBS8. "Old soul, so — you know — mature for your age… Those things are words strung together to excuse the abuse of the adults. That’s it."
Another former child bride, Christina Sutton, testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee about her own experience. Married at 17 to a 22-year-old man, Sutton recounted being coached by her parents to tell the judge it was her choice, despite having expressed to her mother that her boyfriend would not allow her to break up with him. "Like most abused children, I chose lying to a judge over risking escalation at home," Sutton said. "I repeated exactly what my parents had coached me to say: ‘I am very mature for my age; I am choosing this.’"
Advocates emphasize that married minors often face significant legal obstacles, including the inability to independently file for divorce, hire legal representation, or stay in domestic violence shelters for extended periods without parental consent.
Fraidy Reiss, founder of the nonprofit Unchained at Last, highlighted that ending child marriage is a national human rights issue. Unchained at Last's analysis of U.S. Census data indicates that approximately 35,000 underage marriages occurred in California between 2000 and 2021, with most involving an underage girl and an adult man. "Child marriage destroys almost every aspect of a girl’s life," Reiss stated. "We’re talking about her health, her education, her economic opportunities, her physical safety."
Unchained at Last has been lobbying for legislative changes in California for nine years, with AB 1267 representing their most recent effort. If the bill passes the Senate floor vote and subsequently the Assembly, it will be sent to Governor Gavin Newsom. If signed into law, the ban on child marriage would take effect on January 1, 2027.