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California has formally outlawed child marriage, after Governor Gavin Newsom signed legislation that raises the minimum age for wedlock in the state to 18. The measure, which takes effect on 1 January, ends a long-standing legal loophole that had permitted minors to marry with parental approval and judicial authorization.
Newsom described the signing as a "long overdue measure to protect young Californians and minors." He was joined at the ceremony by Courtney Stodden, whose own marriage at 16 to a 50-year-old Hollywood actor drew international attention more than a decade ago. Stodden's parents had consented to the union, which was legal under California law at the time.
Stodden has since become a prominent advocate for ending the practice. She called the new law a "victory" and said survivors of child marriage should "never have been expected to carry this burden." She added that she intends to "keep fighting until children are protected from marriage in all 50 states."
Her marriage to actor Doug Hutchison in 2011 generated widespread controversy. Hutchison, known for roles in films including The Green Mile, A Time to Kill and I Am Sam, was five decades old when the couple wed. The relationship led to appearances on several US reality programmes, among them the VH1 series Couples Therapy.
Other survivors also welcomed the change. Brittany Bee, a former child bride, told the BBC that 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 said she was 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. "People have the audacity to tell me that I made a choice — kids, they can't consent."
Under the previous legal framework in California, there was no minimum age for marriage. Children could wed provided their parents gave consent and a judge approved the union. There was also no mechanism for anyone under 18 to obtain a divorce, a gap that advocates say left many girls trapped in abusive and predatory relationships.
The advocacy group Unchained At Last, which campaigns to end child marriage across the United States, estimates that roughly 9,000 girls were married each year in California. The organisation says almost all child marriages in the state involved young girls wed to adult men.
Sara Tasneen, who says she was forced to marry a man nearly twice her age when she was 15, described the moment as "surreal." She told the BBC she had begun lobbying for the ban herself in 2017. She met her husband on the morning of their arranged marriage, became a mother the following year at 16, and dropped out of school.
"I was forced to be his wife and that day, my entire life changed," Tasneen said. "To have seen the arc of this bill come to fruition has been a marathon," she added, expressing gratitude that children will no longer be able to marry in California after 1 January 2027.
The shift in California reflects a broader national trend. About a decade ago, child marriage remained permissible in every US state. Since 2018, however, a growing number of legislatures have moved to close the loopholes that allowed it, and California is now the 18th state to impose a ban.
Advocates note that public awareness of the issue remains limited. Many Americans do not realise that child marriage is still legal in so many states, nor that it has generated numerous allegations of abuse. The practice persists in 32 states, according to the source article, meaning the majority of the country has yet to follow California's lead.
The new law is expected to have significant practical effects. By removing the parental-consent and judicial-approval pathway, California closes the route through which minors — overwhelmingly girls — were able to enter marriages that they could not legally exit. The absence of divorce access for under-18s had been a particular concern for campaigners.
For survivors like Stodden, Bee and Tasneen, the signing represents the culmination of years of lobbying, testimony and public advocacy. Their efforts have helped reframe child marriage not as a cultural or religious matter but as a safeguarding issue with long-term consequences for education, health and personal autonomy.
California's move also adds momentum to the national campaign. Stodden's pledge to fight until all 50 states act underscores the work that remains. With 32 states still permitting the practice in some form, advocates are expected to press lawmakers elsewhere to adopt similar protections.
The law takes effect on 1 January. From that date, anyone in California wishing to marry must be at least 18, without exception for parental consent or judicial waiver. Supporters say the change will protect thousands of children each year from unions they are not legally or developmentally equipped to enter.
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