{"id":31073,"date":"2026-10-01T10:33:43","date_gmt":"2026-10-01T10:33:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/?p=31073"},"modified":"2026-10-01T10:33:43","modified_gmt":"2026-10-01T10:33:43","slug":"california-child-marriage-ban-message-of-hope-california-becomes-18th-us-state-to-ban-child-marriage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/?p=31073","title":{"rendered":"California Child Marriage Ban: &#8216;Message of hope&#8217;: California becomes 18th US state to ban child marriage"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"e9jwa\">\n<div class=\"vdo_embedd\">\n<div class=\"GfdvZ\">\n<section class=\"_bIDB  clearfix id-r-component leadmedia undefined undefined  E9tg9 \" style=\"top:0px\">\n<div class=\"_bIDB\" data-ua-type=\"1\" onclick=\"stpPgtnAndPrvntDefault(event)\">\n<div class=\"ypVvZ\">\n<div class=\"WGttI\"><img src=\"https:\/\/static.toiimg.com\/thumb\/msid-134615359,imgsize-44032,width-400,height-225,resizemode-4\/california-bans-child-marriage.jpg\" alt=\"'Message of hope': California becomes 18th US state to ban child marriage\" title=\"File photo: California governor Gavin Newsom (Picture credit: AP)\" decoding=\"async\" fetchpriority=\"high\"\/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"Ta7d_ img_cptn\"><span title=\"File photo: California governor Gavin Newsom (Picture credit: AP)\">File photo: California governor Gavin Newsom (Picture credit: AP)<\/span><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>California has officially banned child marriage after Governor Gavin Newsom signed legislation setting 18 as the minimum age for marriage and domestic partnerships in the state.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"2\"\/>Assembly Bill 1267, authored by Democratic Assemblywoman Gail Pellerin of Santa Cruz, repeals provisions that previously allowed minors to marry with parental consent and court approval. The law will come into effect on January 1, 2027.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"4\"\/><\/p>\n<p><h2><b>California ends exceptions for minors<\/b><\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"6\"\/>Newsom signed the legislation on Wednesday alongside media personality and child marriage survivor Courtney Stodden, who was allowed by her parents to marry actor Doug Hutchison when she was 16 and he was 51.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"10\"\/>\u201cThis is a long overdue measure to protect young Californians and minors. Today, California kids are safer than ever before,\u201d Newsom said, according to NBC Los Angeles.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"12\"\/>The legislation was sponsored by Unchained at Last and the California Commission on the Status of Women and Girls. California had previously been among the US states without a statutory minimum marriage age.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"14\"\/>Under the earlier law, minors could marry if they had parental consent and court approval. The law also provided no mechanism for people under 18 to obtain a divorce.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"18\"\/><\/p>\n<p><h2><b>Survivors welcome new law<\/b><\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"20\"\/>Stodden, who has campaigned against child marriage, described the legislation as a \u201cvictory\u201d and said she would continue campaigning until children were protected from marriage across all 50 states.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"22\"\/>\u201cGovernor Newsom&#8217;s action today made clear to me and to survivors of child marriage everywhere that we should never have been expected to carry this burden,\u201d Stodden said, according to NBC Los Angeles.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"25\"\/>She also spoke about feelings of guilt associated with her experience.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"27\"\/>\u201cToday really taught me something. It taught me that what happened to me and to these other girls was wrong. And I was never the problem,\u201d Stodden told NBC Los Angeles.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"29\"\/>Other survivors also welcomed the legislation. Brittany Bee, who told the BBC she was married at 17 after trying to escape an abusive home, said, \u201cCalifornia has sent a clear message to the world today. <!-- -->A message of hope for all children that they may be free from systemic violence. That they may choose their own path.\u201d<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"33\"\/><\/p>\n<p><h2><b>How common was child marriage in California?<\/b><\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"35\"\/>Global Hope 365 said around 35,000 marriages involving minors took place in California between 2000 and 2021, with most involving an underage girl and an adult man, according to NBC Los Angeles.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"37\"\/>Advocacy group Unchained At Last estimated that about 9,000 girls were married each year in California and said almost all child marriages involved girls marrying adult men.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"40\"\/>Rima Nashashibi, founder and president of Global Hope 365 and founder of the California Coalition to End Child Marriage, said survivors had been central to the campaign for a ban.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"42\"\/>\u201cThe heart of this effort has always been the survivors,\u201d Pellerin said. \u201cThey told us what it means to be a child in a marriage you did not freely choose.\u201d<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"45\"\/><\/p>\n<p><h2><b>California becomes 18th US state to ban child marriage<\/b><\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"47\"\/>California is the 18th US state to completely ban child marriage since 2018. The practice remains legal in 32 states, although some have set minimum ages below 18 under specific conditions.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"50\"\/>Mississippi and New Mexico do not have a statutory minimum age, while other states permit marriage below 18 in certain circumstances.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"52\"\/>Stodden said she now wanted to focus on Nevada, where she was married at 16. \u201cAfter I got married in Nevada, they upped it to 17, but that&#8217;s not good enough for me,\u201d she said.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"54\"\/>The new California law will take effect on January 1, 2027, after which people must be at least 18 to marry in the state.<\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/timesofindia.indiatimes.com\/world\/us\/message-of-hope-california-becomes-18th-us-state-to-ban-child-marriage\/articleshow\/134614933.cms\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>File photo: California governor Gavin Newsom (Picture credit: AP) California has officially banned child marriage after Governor Gavin Newsom signed legislation setting 18 as the minimum age for marriage and domestic partnerships in the state.Assembly Bill 1267, authored by Democratic Assemblywoman Gail Pellerin of Santa Cruz, repeals provisions that previously allowed minors to marry with [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":31074,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-31073","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-31"],"magazineBlocksPostFeaturedMedia":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/california-bans-child-marriage.jpg","medium":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/california-bans-child-marriage.jpg","medium_large":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/california-bans-child-marriage.jpg","large":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/california-bans-child-marriage.jpg","1536x1536":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/california-bans-child-marriage.jpg","2048x2048":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/california-bans-child-marriage.jpg","blogsy-small":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/california-bans-child-marriage.jpg","blogsy-small-tall":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/california-bans-child-marriage.jpg","blogsy-small-square":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/california-bans-child-marriage.jpg","blogsy-small-masonry":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/california-bans-child-marriage.jpg","blogsy-medium":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/california-bans-child-marriage.jpg","blogsy-medium-masonry":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/california-bans-child-marriage.jpg","blogsy-large":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/california-bans-child-marriage.jpg","blogsy-wide":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/california-bans-child-marriage.jpg"},"magazineBlocksPostAuthor":{"name":"admin","avatar":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8709732a479614e7a8aa24d3eb1b239f30dc6d90c61464ed495001e7a469d856?s=96&d=mm&r=g"},"magazineBlocksPostCommentsNumber":"0","magazineBlocksPostExcerpt":"File photo: California governor Gavin Newsom (Picture credit: AP) California has officially banned child marriage after Governor Gavin Newsom signed legislation setting 18 as the minimum age for marriage and domestic partnerships in the state.Assembly Bill 1267, authored by Democratic Assemblywoman Gail Pellerin of Santa Cruz, repeals provisions that previously allowed minors to marry with [&hellip;]","magazineBlocksPostCategories":["\u0b26\u0b47\u0b36 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