Ex-Child Brides In Chains Confront Sacramento Over Underage Marriage Law

Wearing white gowns and dragging chains across the Capitol steps, survivors of child marriage marched into Sacramento this week with a blunt demand: California should not let anyone marry before age 18, period. They told lawmakers and reporters that the current setup, which lets judges and parents approve underage weddings, leaves minors exposed to abuse and traps them in legal limbo when they try to get out.

Local Data That Fueled The Protest

According to CBS 8, California Department of Public Health records show 73 marriages involving minors between 2019 and 2024. San Diego County officials also reported issuing 102 marriage licenses since 2010 in which at least one person was under 18. The outlet highlighted local cases from 2014, 2015 and 2018 that advocates say reveal how legal loopholes can legitimize marriages with significant age gaps.

How Widespread Is Child Marriage?

Advocates backing a hard minimum age lean on national research to argue this is not a fringe problem. Unchained At Last found that roughly 315,000 minors were legally married in the United States from 2000 through 2021, with most of those marriages involving underage girls and adult men. Survivors and researchers say numbers like that are a big part of why they are pushing for a clear, no-exceptions cutoff at 18.

The Legislative Fight

The latest attempt to change California law came in the form of AB 2924, introduced in February 2024 by Assemblymember Cottie Petrie-Norris. The bill would have set 18 as the minimum age to marry and eliminated statutory workarounds that let judges or parents sign off on underage unions. Assemblymember Cottie Petrie-Norris presented the proposal as a straightforward child-protection measure. The effort later stalled after objections from several advocacy organizations and a tense committee process, coverage that was detailed by LAist.

Why Some Groups Oppose A Total Ban

Groups including ACLU California Action, Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California and the National Center for Youth Law urged lawmakers not to rush into a blanket ban. They warned that a total prohibition could unintentionally restrict the autonomy of pregnant or parenting teens and might push some marriages into informal, harder to track arrangements. That concern was outlined in reporting by KQED. Those organizations argue that if lawmakers raise the marriage age, they should also invest in services and safeguards that give young people other options.

Survivors Have Taken Their Case To The Capitol

Survivors and their allies have not limited their campaign to written testimony. They have staged "chain-in" demonstrations and held press conferences at the Capitol to press the case that the current protections fall short, according to the California Coalition to End Child Marriage. Advocates say many lawmakers and much of the public still do not realize how often minors are legally married, or how those marriages can strip young people of basic legal options.

What The Law Currently Requires And What Would Change

In 2018, California tightened the process for court-approved underage marriages with SB 273. The law requires Family Court Services to interview minors and parents separately and directs judges to consider whether a minor may be facing coercion before granting permission, as summarized by Snopes. Survivors argue those safeguards are not enough to prevent forced or coerced unions. Opponents of a strict ban, meanwhile, caution that enforcement could be complicated and warn of unintended consequences if lawmakers raise the age without building in parallel supports.

What’s Next

State Sen. Aisha Wahab told reporters she plans to draft legislation that would set a firm minimum marriage age of 18, according to CBS 8. With AB 2924 on hold and survivor groups already organizing in Sacramento, advocates say they intend to keep showing up, testifying and lobbying until lawmakers close what they see as dangerous loopholes in the state’s marriage law.