North Carolina Lawmakers’ new objective is to reduce and promote restrictions on child marriage, with a number of unanimous votes, the lawmakers are all set, however not fully set to outlaw it. They are legalizing the marriage age to 16 from 14.
The legislation was passed by the Week last week and on Tuesday by the State Senate. No child below the age of 16 years is entitled to get married and there should be an age gap of 4 years or lesser to whom the 16 or 17-year-old child is getting married to. The bill is still due to be signed by the North Carolina Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper.
Mary Scott Winstead, a spokesperson for the governor, comments, “While the legislation falls short of raising the age of marriage to 18, the governor supports this step toward ending child marriage in North Carolina and more protections for children.”
State Sen. Danny Earl Britt, Jr., a Republican and co-sponsor of the bill stated later onwards, that, “the first draft of the bill prohibited anyone under age 18 from marrying, but it was later amended in a Senate committee after some lobbyist groups argued banning minors from getting married might lead more teenagers to choose abortion if they are pregnant and unable to get married, lawmakers pushing the bill through wanted to avoid any roadblocks that would kill the legislation.”
Bottom Line: The North Carolina lawmakers are going to legalize the marriage age to be 16 from 14 with an unsuccessful attempt to outlaw child marriage making the legal age to be 18, but have legalized the marriage age to be 16 from 14.
