WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Massachusetts Democrat lawmakers have introduced a Bill to end child marriage in the state.
House Bill H1478, filed by Representative Kay Khan, and Senate Bill S24, filed by Senator Harriette Chandler, calls for prohibiting marriage before the age of 18.
The House bill has been assigned to the Judiciary Committee, and the Senate bill to the Committee on Children, Families and Persons with Disabilities.
The first hearing of the Senate Bill was held on Tuesday.
Kay Khan, a Newton Democrat, has been pushing legislation to block child marriages and documenting their prevalence with data from the Department of Public Health Vital Records Office.
Human Rights Watch sent a letter to Governor Charlie Baker seeking his support to the proposed law to end child marriage.
It also appealed to Massachusetts lawmakers to make the bills a priority and send them forward quickly for a vote.
The New York-based human rights watchdog is working with a coalition of about 40 organizations and individuals, including UNICEF USA, for the cause.
'Unchained At Last' members marched to the Governor's office on Wednesday, urging legislators to end Massachusetts child marriage.
Between 2000 and 2016, more than 1,200 children under age 18 were married in Massachusetts, according to government data. Almost all of them were girls marrying adult men. Fifty-seven were under age 16, the state's legal age of consent. The current law sets the minimum marriage age at 18, but allows children to marry with permission from a judge and parental consent. When those conditions are met, there is no statutory age limit.
Child marriage undermines a girl's health, education and economic opportunities and increases the risk of domestic violence and divorce, the Bill says. Children face overwhelming legal and practical barriers if they try to leave the marriage including access to a shelter, renting an apartment, bringing legal action, opening a checking account and obtaining services from DCF.
Delaware became the first US state to completely outlaw child marriage in May 2018, followed by New Jersey in June. In both states, the bills had bipartisan support.
Similar bills to ban child marriage have been introduced in other states.
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