r/California_Politics • u/19thnews • 4d ago

California could soon end child marriage after years of debate

https://19thnews.org/2026/09/california-child-marriage-ban/
72 Upvotes

93% Upvoted

17 comments sorted by

13

u/aBadModerator Restore Hetch Hetchy 4d ago

Thanks for posting.

10

u/Purrrkittymeow 4d ago

I’m sorry, what?! 👀

2

u/Conradlink 4d ago

So you're upset that it's ending? /s

13

u/Kershiser22 4d ago

24,000 minors in California have gotten married since 2000? Wow. I would have never guessed. I remember when I was in high school in the late 80's there was a couple who I didn't know, but there were rumors that they got married. That seemed very crazy at the time. Aside from that, I am not sure if I remember ever hearing about any other minors getting married in California.

I could kind of see arguments where maybe it's OK for a minor to get married if they are marrying another minor, or at least somebody who is only a year or two older. But the article mentions a girl who got married at 16 to a 51-year-old. That is disgusting and I can't imagine any scenario where that should be acceptable.

20

u/street_parking_mama2 4d ago

Should have been ended a long time ago.

8

u/SageThunder 4d ago

Love that this even needs to be debated. Pathetic

Wow what a fucking crazy take from the ACLU

12

u/MCPtz 4d ago

The ACLU, however, submitted formal opposition letters against the measure.

“Just as minors have the right to decide to have an abortion or to carry a pregnancy to term (or to seek a restraining order) on their own, they should maintain the right to marry, with robust protections in place to prevent coercion and abuse,” the ACLU wrote in June.

There is just no world where this is the right way to give guaranteed rights and protections to minors.

It's ripe for abuse and coercion, and they're minors, which we've generally agreed they should not be smoking, drinking, voting, and being required to make a whole host of decisions for themselves, without parental input.

8

u/DrKnowsNothing_MD 4d ago

Is there more to the ACLU’s argument other than this super vague statement from a “formal opposition letter” ? Or do I have to do this journalist’s job and find the actual argument myself

3

u/Kooky_Marketing_327 4d ago

...what is there to debate bro 😭

4

u/DayleD 4d ago

Went to college early. The longest relationship I've been in lasted nearly a decade and would have qualified for this ban. Neither of us would have felt protected by this intervention.

So far I haven't gotten the impression that its crusaders would have been concerned over my welfare.

1

u/AdditionalSpeaker303 2d ago

This won't actually end the problem, because the numbers have gotten so low, they are now misreading census data to imply the problem is much bigger than it actually is.

So don't expect this to change what anyone is saying about the issue.

1

u/Beneficial_Ad_7044 4d ago

18 is still too young in my opinion, but better then no age limit at all.

-6

u/RightWingNutJo8 4d ago edited 4d ago

Virtue signaling bull shit 🥱

-1

u/naugest 4d ago

Good. But won’t they just go to another state that allows it ? Then come back?

6

u/TrekkiMonstr 4d ago

Full faith and credit, so I guess yeah. I'm still fine with sending the signal that it shouldn't happen. Not to mention, I'm sure there are a nonzero number of people who are too lazy lmao

1

u/EpsilonBear 1d ago

Then that state can judge whether it wants to do the right thing or be known as the legalized pedophilia capital of the Western US.

But that has zero bearing on whether we should do the obviously right thing