This state has fully banned child marriage. It’s still legal everywhere else

Delaware is first state in the U.S. to fully ban the marriage for anyone who isn’t a legal adult, a historic decision that opponents of child marriage consider a big victory.

Democratic Delaware Gov. John Carney on Wednesday signed into law a bill that sets the minimum age to marry at 18, WDEL reported. The bill says no one younger than that age can be granted a marriage license — under any circumstance.

Before, there were exceptions that allowed for a person under 18 to get married, such as approval from a family court judge, which often depended on permission from the minor’s parents or legal guardian.

Such loopholes still exist in the other 49 states, which is why Delaware is the first to ban child marriage outright. But in Missouri, where brides and grooms as young as 15 can marry with a parent’s approval, there are virtually none. The Kansas City Star reported that the state is the easiest in the U.S. to get married as a child, according to an analysis of child marriage statues in the country. The state doesn’t have a minimum age to marry, but anyone under the age of 14 needs a judge’s approval.

Eight states allow children 15 or younger to get married only if the bride is pregnant or has already given birth, the Star reported.

Democratic Delaware state Representative Kim Williams, who introduced the bill, told WDEL that she’s “proud” that the state is “leading the way to protect children.”

“Children under 18 have no legal standing — they cannot file for divorce, utilize a domestic violence shelter, apply for a loan or open a credit card,” she said. “...Until this bill was signed they could be married as a child without any way of escaping an abusive marriage.”

Fraidy Reiss, the founder of Unchained At Last, which describes itself as the only nonprofit devoted to helping woman escape arranged marriages, told PBS Frontline that amid the Me Too movement, “we’re finally getting our elected officials to recognize that girls have value.”

Republican Sen. Anthony Delcollo noted the law includes “ an exception for circumstances that would otherwise be considered statutory rape,” WDEL reported.

State law didn’t view sex between a minor and someone who is 30 years old or older as rape if the two were married, NPR reported.

“This bill would eliminate this backward and, what I consider, unacceptable exception," Delcollo said, reported WDEL.

NPR reported that more than 200 minors got married in Delaware between 2000 and 2017, with more than 90 percent of cases involving girls younger than 18 marrying adult men.

Republican Rep. Steve Smyk, who voted against the bill, said it could “unfairly exclude couples with legitimate reasons for seeking such a union,” PBS Frontline reported.

The law, which passed the state Senate unanimously this month after clearing the House in April, goes into effect immediately, PBS Frontline reported.

This story was originally published May 10, 2018 at 8:12 PM with the headline "This state has fully banned child marriage. It’s still legal everywhere else."