California Outlaws Child Marriage as Governor Newsom Signs Long-Awaited Ban, Leaving 32 States Still Permitting the Practice

California has formally prohibited child marriage after Governor Gavin Newsom signed legislation that raises the minimum age for wedlock in the state to 18. The new law, set to take effect on 1 January, ends a legal framework that had allowed minors to marry with parental consent and judicial approval. With this move, California becomes the 18th US state to ban the practice since 2018. However, child marriage remains legal in 32 other states, meaning the patchwork of American laws on the issue is far from resolved.

Newsom described the change as a "long overdue measure to protect young Californians and minors." He signed the bill into law alongside Courtney Stodden, a survivor who became the public face of the campaign after her own highly publicised marriage as a teenager. Stodden was 16 when her parents allowed her to wed Doug Hutchison, a Hollywood actor 34 years her senior, in 2011. The union drew international headlines and led to appearances on US reality television programmes, including the VH1 series Couples Therapy.

Stodden, who has since advocated for ending child marriage across the country, called the legislation a "victory." She said survivors should "never have been expected to carry this burden" and pledged to "keep fighting until children are protected from marriage in all 50 states." Her remarks underscore the reality that California's ban, while significant, does not shield minors elsewhere in the US from similar situations.

Other survivors also welcomed the signing. Brittany Bee, a former child bride who spoke to the BBC, said California had "sent a clear message to the world today" — one of "hope for all children that they may be free from systemic violence" and able to "choose their own path." Bee has been candid about her experience, explaining that she married at 17 in an attempt to escape an abusive home, only to allege that she was then abused by her adult husband. "I was just going from one prison to another," she said. She rejected the notion that minors can meaningfully consent to marriage, stating: "People have the audacity to tell me that I made a choice — kids, they can't consent."

The scope of the problem in California before the ban was substantial. Under the previous rules, there was no legal minimum age to wed; children could marry provided a parent consented and a judge approved the union. Crucially, there was no mechanism for anyone under 18 to obtain a divorce, leaving many girls trapped in abusive and predatory relationships. Unchained At Last, an advocacy group working to end child marriage nationwide, estimated that roughly 9,000 girls were married each year in California. The organisation also noted that almost all child marriages in the state involved girls marrying adult men.

Advocates stress that public awareness of the issue remains limited. Many Americans do not realise that child marriage is still legal in so many states, nor are they aware of the allegations of abuse that have accompanied the practice. The campaign in California has therefore been as much about changing perceptions as about altering the statute books.

Sara Tasneen, another survivor, described the moment as "surreal." She told the BBC she was forced to marry a man nearly twice her age when she was 15. She met her husband on the morning of their arranged marriage. "I was forced to be his wife and that day, my entire life changed," she said. She became a mother at 16 and dropped out of school. Tasneen began lobbying for reform in 2017, and her efforts have now borne fruit. "To have seen the arc of this bill come to fruition has been a marathon," she said. "I'm just grateful that kids cannot get married after January 1, 2027 in California."

The timing of the legislation reflects years of incremental progress. About a decade ago, child marriage was permitted in every US state. Since 2018, however, a growing number of states have amended their laws, with California becoming the 18th to enact a full ban. Yet the fact that 32 states still allow the practice in some form means the campaign is far from complete. Survivors and advocacy groups have made clear they intend to press for change in the remaining jurisdictions.

The new California law closes loopholes that had effectively legalised the marriage of minors. By setting a uniform age of 18 and removing the parental-consent-and-judicial-approval pathway, the state has aligned itself with the position that children cannot legally consent to marriage. The absence of divorce rights for minors had been a particular concern, as it left young brides without an exit from abusive unions. The ban is expected to prevent thousands of such marriages each year within California.

Political momentum on the issue has been building, but it faces varied resistance in different states. Some legislatures have been reluctant to change laws that include exceptions for pregnancy, judicial approval, or parental consent. Advocates argue that such exceptions undermine the principle that marriage should be reserved for adults. The California result provides a template for campaigners elsewhere, demonstrating that sustained lobbying by survivors can overcome long-standing legal norms.

For the survivors who campaigned for the law, the signing represents both a conclusion and a continuation. Stodden, Bee, and Tasneen have each spoken of the personal toll of their experiences and the importance of ensuring that others do not endure the same. Their testimony has shifted the debate from abstract legal questions to the lived consequences of child marriage, including interrupted education, early motherhood, and entrapment in abusive relationships. As California prepares to implement the ban on 1 January, the focus now turns to the 32 states where the practice remains legal, and to whether the momentum generated in the Golden State can be replicated across the country.