Currently, children can marry as young as 16 in West Virginia with parental consent. It allows anyone younger than that to get married with a judge’s waiver.
According to the nonprofit group Unchained At Last, which seeks to end forced and child marriage, seven states have set the minimum age for marriage at 18, all since 2018. Supporters of such legislation say it reduces domestic violence, unwanted pregnancies and improves the lives of teens.“I know this has been a contentious issue among a number of people," Trump said."My hope is this will be viewed as a reasonable and acceptable compromise and a necessary change to our law.
Although recent figures are unavailable, according to the Pew Research Center, West Virginia had the highest rate of child marriages among the states in 2014, when the state’s five-year average was 7.1 marriages for every 1,000 children ages 15 to 17. Putnam County Republican Sen. Eric Tarr said he got married in high school at 17 and his first child was born five days after graduation. He said he liked Trump's version of the bill because it “protects family.”
Kanawha County Republican Sen. Mike Stuart said his mother was married at 16 and his parents are still together.A former federal prosecutor, Stuart added the bill wouldn’t be a cure to child sex exploitation in the state. He said that challenge would be helped through more education, funding, law enforcement and prosecutors.
“Our law in West Virginia is pretty darned good. With this amendment it becomes even better,” Stuart said. “And there’s not a state in the country that can hold a candle to West Virginia on these issues.”“Our state has invested a lot of money in improving our national image,” Woelfel said. “Every time we have a debate like this talking about child brides, we add to that negative image. Let’s leave it at 18. My God, it’s marriage. How in the world can teenagers negotiate a marriage at this point.
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