This is a victory for everyone who’s advocating to end child marriages and forced marriages. Minors who were 16 and 17 were allowed to marry with only parental consent. Since 1929, New York has permitted 14- and 15-year-olds to marry with judicial and parental approval, the newspaper reported. New York raised the age of consent from 14 to 17 with parental or judicial consent in 2017, according to The New York Times. The bill, called Nalia’s Law, is named after a survivor who was forced to marry when she was 13, NBC News reported. Most states still allow youths under the age of 18 to marry, including those who are legally emancipated or who have parental consent or judicial approval, CBS News reported. Virgin Islands and American Samoa, the newspaper reported. Minnesota, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware have enacted similar laws, along with the U.S.
Daniel McKee signed legislation barring minors from being married, The Washington Post reported. The law will take effect in 30 days and will apply to licenses issued after the date, and marriages that had not been solemnized before that date, WABC reported. I thank the many legislators & advocates who made this law possible.
We've fought hard to successfully end child marriage and today I'm proud to sign legislation raising the age of consent to be married in NYS to 18.