Connecticut lawmakers voted Friday to tighten the state’s marriage laws, barring anyone under the age of 18 from being issued a marriage license under any circumstances.
The legislation cleared the Senate unanimously, following a 98-45 bipartisan vote last month in the House of Representatives. It updated the 2017 law against child marriage that advocates created a dangerous loophole, leaving young people at risk of coercion and sexual abuse.
Currently in Connecticut, a 16- or 17-year-old can obtain a marriage license if their local probate court judge approves a petition filed on behalf of the minor by their parent or guardian. Current state law also allows emancipated minors to marry at 16 or 17, something that will end under this new legislation as well.
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The bill will move to the desk of Democratic Gov. Ned Lamont. A spokeswoman said Friday the governor plans to sign the bill into law.
Despite the Senate’s unanimous vote on Friday, there was criticism of the House bill — including whether it was necessary because of the low number of teen marriages in Connecticut, and the fact that a probate judge could deny on a license if they believe a young person is being forced into marriage.
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But Democratic Sen. Herron Gaston of Bridgeport spoke from personal experience about the importance of the legislation during Friday’s Senate debate. She described how her sister married a 50-year-old man when she was 17 and lived on the island of St. Lucia.
“I saw the devastating effect it had on him physically, how it robbed him of his innocence and his childhood,” she said. “She gave birth to five children from this marriage and eventually had to flee the island of Saint Lucia and to Florida to get away from her abuser.”
Some advocates for the law, wearing wedding gowns with chains on their wrists, watched Friday’s proceedings from the Senate gallery. They noted throughout the week how neighboring states, including Massachusetts, New York, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania and New Jersey, have already adopted 18-year marriage requirements.
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Connecticut is one of several states across the country this year that moved to raise the minimum age to legally marry to 18, including Vermont. Proposals to raise the minimum marriage age in West Virginia and Washington have stalled.