In a recent vote, Oklahoma senate Republican legislators voted against Senate Bill 504, which is an outright ban on child marriage with no exceptions. They argued that the bill amounted to government overreach into personal family choices. Despite the opposition, the measured passed and became law in May 2026.
In Wisconsin, State-level efforts to ban child marriage have repeatedly stalled in committees controlled by Republican leadership. They argue that proposed laws infringe on the rights of parents to decide what is right for their children
In Missouri, a Republican-controlled House committee killed a bill that would have completely outlawed marriage for anyone under eighteen. Opponents argued that the age requirement ignored “unique” family situations and undermined parental authority.
In South Dakota, the Senate killed a bi-partisan bill that would have removed exceptions allowing 16 and 17 year olds to marry with parental consent. Republicans argued that banning child marriage would criminalize young marriages and disrupt family values.
Eighteen states have fully banned child marriage with no exceptions: Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia and Washington. Delaware became the first state to outlaw child marriage, with a law passed in 2018. Yes, 2018!!
Child marriage laws in the United States were based on English Common Law. Marriages in that time were often related to strategic land acquisitions or situations where one or both parties stood to make significant financial gains. The minimum age of consent was fourteen 14 for boys and twelve for girls, which was inherited from medieval canon law. Technically, girls as young as seven could be betrothed; the actual contract was invalid unless both parties reaffirmed the union at twelve or fourteen. The life span of the average person was 35-40 years. Even if you do the math and say they were “middle age”, it doesn’t add up. The law was overhauled in 1753 when the age of consent was 21. Marriages under the minimum age requirement parental approval.
Infringing on parental rights is dubious, at best. It basically means parents can sell their children into marriage and use the proceeds to either bail out their financial disaster or support a way of life. Government overreach is, perhaps, a matter of opinion; but one of the purposes of government is to protect the vulnerable, which includes children. They deserve to be protected from abusive parents.
To the infringement on religious rights, it’s important not to cherry pick verses out of context. It is true that in biblical times parents sometimes sold their children into indentured servitude or as temporary slaves. Generally, this was done to pay off debt. Oftentimes the debt was garnered through the oppression of the Roman Empire which charged outrageous taxes on peasants. When they were unable to pay the debt, their land was confiscated.
Jesus was overwhelmingly an advocate for the most vulnerable members of society. This included children. In Matthew 19 “children were being brought to Jesus so that he might lay his hands on them and pray. The disciples spoke sternly to those who brought them, but Jesus said, ‘Let the little children come to me, and do not stop them, for it is to such as these that the kingdom of heaven belongs.’”
In Luke 17, Jeus said to his disciples, “Occasions for stumbling are bound to come, but woe by whom they come. It would be better for you if a millstone were hung around your neck and you were thrown into the sea than for you to cause one of these little ones to stumble.”
When Jesus preached the sermon that began his public ministry, he proclaimed, “The spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” The word “poor” is a catchphrase that represented society’s most vulnerable. It is frequently grouped with the widow, the orphan and the stranger/foreigner. These groups represent the most marginalized socially and economically powerless people in the ancient world. Children were included in that population. Jesus was always headed toward the margins, where the vulnerable people were.
The witness of scripture is that Jesus loved the little children, as the old song goes, and sought to protect them and help them grow to the full stature of their humanness.
Where these Republicans get the idea that child marriage is in the bible is a stretch. That said, when children reached puberty they were considered old enough to marry. Remember, the average life span was thirty years.
We do not live under ancient Common English Law, and we do not live in biblical times. It is time for white men in power to use their power to protect the vulnerable, not sell them off to the highest bidder. We need laws in all fifty states that make child marriage illegal. If you live in a state where child marriage is still legal, write to your legislators and tell them it is time to change this law.
The Irreverent Reverend 