A bill that would ban child marriage in New Hampshire and raise the age of marriage to 18 was passed by the House.
There was total support for the bill in the Senate in March. Wednesday, the House voted 192-174 in favor of it. Now the bill is ready for Gov. Chris Sununu to sign into law.
Rep. Jess Edwards was one of the people who voted against, and her words made her colleagues gasp right away.
“… If we continually restrict the freedom of marriage as a legitimate social option, when we do this to people who are a ripe, fertile age and may have a pregnancy and a baby involved, are we not, in fact, making abortion a much more desirable alternative, when marriage might be the right solution for some freedom-loving couples?” he said.
This is New Hampshire Republican State Rep Jess Edwards arguing in favor of child marriage this week and referring to girls as “ripe” and “fertile.”
— Shannon Watts (@shannonrwatts) May 4, 2024
Thankfully, the bill passed and child marriage will soon be illegal in New Hampshire. pic.twitter.com/RJSYL8rpVS
In Texas, 18 is too young to drink, but Edwards thinks girls 16 are old enough to get married. Elizabeth Edwards, Edwards’ daughter, was a state lawmaker, and Edwards said that her work was what made him want to run for office. Currently serving his third term.
Shannon Watts, an advocate for gun control and child safety, wrote on Twitter, “Concord, Delaware, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont have set the minimum age at 18 and removed all exceptions. Child marriage is currently legal in 38 states. Twenty states do not require any minimum age for marriage.”
In the last six years, this would be the second time that the age of marriage up in New Hampshire. Recently, Sununu signed a bill that raised the age of marriage to 16 from 14. Laws have let 13-year-old girls and 14-year-old boys get married as long as their parents and the court agreed.
Two changes were suggested on Thursday that would make it possible for people under 18 who have been legally freed to get married.
When she pushed for the bill in 2018, Rep. Cassandra Levesque, D-Barrington, was a student at Dover High School and a Girl Scout. She is now one of seven people who support SB 359.
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