The Daily Populous Wednesday May 7th, 2025 evening edition
Authored by stlpr.org and submitted by ILikeNeurons

The Missouri Senate voted Tuesday to ban child marriage by raising the minimum age for marriage to 18 in all instances.

The House voted to approve the same bill last week, meaning the legislation is now bound for the governor’s desk.

Current law allows 16- and 17-year-olds to marry with parental permission if the other party is under 21.

Supporters of a full ban on child marriage say that allowing teenagers to marry leaves them vulnerable to abuse and human trafficking, among other dangers. Married teenagers still lack the legal rights of adults, meaning they cannot initiate divorce or access resources for victims of abuse.

Rep. Renee Reuter, R-Imperial, spoke in support of the bill in the House.

“Women who get married before 18 don’t have the option to get a divorce. They can’t sign a contract to hire a lawyer,” Reuter said. “Most importantly, they can’t enter into a domestic violence shelter, because they’re under 18 and they’re an unaccompanied minor, even though they’re married.”

The ban on child marriage is one of many provisions designed to protect children in House Bill 737 . The legislation has broad bipartisan support, but the prospect of raising the marriage age still met with some opposition in the House.

Rep. Hardy Billington, R-Poplar Bluff, was among the few who spoke against the bill, arguing that barring pregnant teenagers from getting married would increase abortion rates.

“We all claim to be pro-life here in the body,” Billington said. “Now we’re going to vote on this bill where babies are going to die.”

House Minority Leader Ashley Aune, D-Kansas City, said the current law could allow girls to be married off by their parents against their will.

“When I spoke to the Platte County recorder of deeds, who, by the way, is a Republican, what he shared with me is how horrifying his experience is when he has to assist a young woman with a marriage certificate – the look in her eyes when he knows that this is against her will,” Aune said. “How do we protect our young women from being legally trafficked by people who do not care about them but who have legal control over their lives?”

The final version of the bill passed the House by a vote of 129-14, with one member voting present. In the Senate, it passed by a vote of 32-1. Sen. Mike Moon, R-Ash Grove, was the only vote against.

Other provisions in the bill prohibit the use of nondisclosure agreements in child sexual abuse cases , increase tax credits for contributing to youth programs and protect assets of foster children inherited from deceased parents.

The bill now only needs the governor’s signature to become law.

The River City Journalism Fund supports St. Louis Public Radio's Statehouse internship. Evy Lewis is the 2025 reporting intern. See rcjf.org for more information about the fund, which seeks to advance journalism in St. Louis.

Deep_Head4645 on May 7th, 2025 at 01:56 UTC »

Wait America still had child marriage?

BobbyJoeMcgee on May 7th, 2025 at 01:17 UTC »

Good but crazy there has to be a law for that

ILikeNeurons on May 7th, 2025 at 01:04 UTC »

Child marriage is a human rights violation, and Missouri ranks 12th in child marriages per capita, so this is really important legislation.

If you live/vote in Missouri, write your governor to support this bill.

https://governor.mo.gov/contact-us