Just eight months after New Hampshire raised the minimum age for marriage to 18 without exceptions, a surprising reversal is underway. House Bill 433, currently making its way through the state legislature, seeks to create a military exception to the state's child marriage ban. The bill would allow 17-year-olds to marry if either party is an active duty member of the armed forces, with parental consent required for civilian minors.
This legislative whiplash in the Granite State exemplifies the complex and often contentious battle over child marriage in America—a fight where progress is neither linear nor assured. As advocates celebrate victories in some states, they watch with dismay as exceptions and loopholes emerge in others.
Let's take a look at the legislation that has shaped the debate, and the bills introduced in current legislative sessions.
New Hampshire's Military Exception: A Concerning Precedent?
New Hampshire's Senate Bill 359, signed into law in June 2024, was celebrated as a clear victory in the fight against child marriage. The law changed the minimum age for marriage from 16 to 18 years of age and repealed various provisions related to the marriage of minors, including requirements for petitions, waivers, and the use of marriage license and registration forms for parties under the age of 18.
Yet less than a year later, HB 433 proposes to walk back some of these protections. The bill modifies New Hampshire's marriage age consent laws to create a specific exception for active duty military personnel, allowing 17-year-olds to marry if one party is an active duty service member. While the bill requires parental consent if the minor is not also on active duty, critics argue this creates a dangerous precedent.
According to a recent article in The Fulcrum, "HB 433 threatens to undo that progress, by allowing 17-year-olds to marry active-duty service members of any age, and permitting 17-year-old active-duty service members to marry anyone 17 or older, undermining the protections against exploitation and harm established by SB 359." According to unchainedatlast.org, in New Hampshire alone, approximately 215 minors were married between 2000 and 2023, before the law was amended, with records showing that 83% of these cases involved girls married to adult men.
The military exception reflects a belief that serving in the armed forces confers a level of maturity that justifies earlier marriage. Child welfare advocates point out, though, that young people in military service may face unique pressures and vulnerabilities that make such exceptions particularly problematic. Proponents also argue that the exception would ensure minors married to service members can access military benefits. However, service members can already designate any beneficiary for life insurance and death benefits, regardless of age or marital status. Other benefits, such as health and housing, according to the Fulcrum article, do not justify child marriage and only perpetuate a lifetime of dependency.
The Current Landscape of Child Marriage in America
Data from unchainedatlast.org shows that between 2000 and 2018, over 300,000 children were legally married in the United States. Some were as young as 10 years old. These marriages often happen through exceptions in state laws that allow minors to marry with parental consent or judicial approval.
Child marriage in America predominantly affects young girls who marry older men. These unions often result from parental pressure, religious customs, pregnancy, or attempts to escape difficult home situations. The consequences can be devastating: girls who marry before 18 are more likely to drop out of school, experience domestic violence, live in poverty, and suffer from health problems. Fun fact: The U.S. is the only UN member state that has not yet ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which has reaffirmed that the minimum age limit should be 18 years for marriage.
Looking Back: Progress Since 2018
Delaware and New Jersey led the way by becoming the first states to ban all marriages for those under 18 without exceptions in 2018. Since then, the momentum has continued with several more states following suit. This list shows bills regarding child marriage introduced between 2018 and 2024 that became law across the U.S. Click the AI summary to expand the text:
This BillTrack50 analysis identifies 19 bills aimed at ending or restricting child marriage that have been signed into law across various states. The legislative approach has evolved from merely raising the minimum age for marriage to completely eliminating all exceptions that allow minors to marry. Most recent bills establish 18 as the minimum age without exceptions. Some exceptions are Maine's LD 443 in 2023 which sets the minimum age at 17, with no exceptions. Previously, the law allowed for marriage licenses to be issued to those under 18 with parental or guardian consent, and to those under 16 with special approval (though marriage under the age of 16 was stopped by LD 545 in 2019). Tennessee's SB 1375 / HB 189 also raised the age to 17 in 2019. Utah's HB 406 from 2021 doesn't outlaw child marriage, but it strengthens safeguards such as requiring written authorization from a judge or court commissioner to the marriage. Similarly, Indiana's HB 1006 from 2020 only raises the minimum marriage age from 15 to 16, but it does require more oversight for minors seeking to marry, and grants complete emancipation in certain cases where it is found to be in the minor's best interests. Missouri took a similar approach in 2018, raising the age to 16 with SB 655.
Current Trends and Challenges
Moves to restrict child marriage continue in the current legislative sessions. This map shows child marriage related legislation currently making its way through legislatures across the country. Click on a state for more details of the bills including their up to date status:
Analysis of the recent child marriage legislation reveals a complex patchwork of approaches across the country. Currently, 26 bills addressing child marriage are making their way through state legislatures in the 2025 legislative session.
Bills introduced in Missouri, Oregon, Hawaii, South Dakota, Texas, Arizona, Oklahoma, Illinois, Kansas, South Carolina, and Montana seek to remove all legal provisions that allow marriage below the age of 18. Others seek to remove certain exceptions but not all, such as Oklahoma's HB 1997 which only allows minors to marry where a court has previously conferred upon the minor the rights of majority - that is, they have been emancipated. It also includes further restrictions allowing marriage between under 16s only where the marriage settles a paternity suit or when an unmarried female is pregnant, and only with specific court authorization and parental involvement. Effectively codifying 'shotgun weddings'.
Missouri In The Spotlight
Missouri leads the nation in terms of current legislation with six active bills addressing aspects of child marriage—a reflection of ongoing debates in a state that only recently reformed its marriage laws, with SB 655 in 2018, and which previously had no minimum age requirement with parental consent. Two bills - SB 66 and SB 631 are genuine bipartisan attempts to outlaw child marriage with no exceptions. HB 484 doesn't go quite that far as it allows emancipated minors to marry, similar to HB 1997 in Oklahoma. HB 1021 tackles the issue in a different way, removing one of the key issues with child marriage by allowing married minors to file for divorce without the consent of a parent or guardian. Another bill, HB 491, goes further and allows married minors to contract for a variety of services, such as housing, student loans and medical care, which are currently restricted to over 18s.
Resistance to Reform
The continued introduction of bills with exceptions and carve-outs demonstrates how deeply entrenched certain views about child marriage remain in American society. Opposition to comprehensive reform often comes from unexpected quarters. Some religious groups argue that marriage restrictions infringe on religious freedom or parental rights. Others contend that marriage provides a solution for pregnant teenagers - as reflected in the Oklahoma bill. And in some cases, legislators simply believe that certain "mature" minors should have the right to make their own decisions about marriage.
The military exception, as seen in New Hampshire's HB433, represents a newer justification—the belief that service in the armed forces confers a level of maturity that warrants exception from age restrictions. Proponents argue that it ensures minors married to service members can access military benefits. However, the Fulcrum reports that "service members can already designate any beneficiary for life insurance and death benefits, regardless of age or marital status. Other benefits, such as health and housing, do not justify child marriage and only perpetuate a lifetime of dependency."
Advocates for complete elimination of child marriage argue that no exceptions are justified, pointing to research showing negative outcomes for minors who marry regardless of circumstances. They emphasize that if someone is not mature enough to sign a rental agreement or file for divorce independently, they are not mature enough to enter the legal contract of marriage. Marriage before 18 years of age "can entangle minors in a web of legal obstacles, effectively trapping them in marriage until they turn 18. Minors are generally unable to enter into binding contracts, file lawsuits independently, or hire an attorney, all of which are critical should one wish to leave a marriage," according to the Fulcrum.
The Path Forward
As the 2025 legislative session unfolds, it remains to be seen how many of the current 26 bills will pass into law and what their impact will be. None have yet been enacted, with most still in committee stages. However, the very presence of this many bills indicates that child marriage remains a live issue in American politics.
The trend toward ending child marriage in America appears to be continuing, though with significant resistance. As more states pass laws establishing 18 as the minimum age for marriage without exceptions, pressure mounts on remaining states to follow suit. National legislation has also been proposed, though the primary battlefield remains at the state level where marriage laws are traditionally determined.
The path forward requires continued advocacy, education, and political pressure. It also demands acknowledgment that child marriage intersects with other social issues, including poverty, education access, gender inequality, and child welfare. Comprehensive solutions must address these interconnections.
The Fulcrum reports that advocacy organizations are working to prevent rollbacks of existing protections: "Unchained At Last, a national survivor-led nonprofit organization dedicated to ending forced marriage and child marriage in the United States, has led members of the National Coalition to End Child Marriage, including Equality Now, in submitting testimony to The New Hampshire House of Representatives in opposition of the bill." In written testimony, Anastasia Law, Programme Officer for North America at Equality Now, strongly opposed HB 433, urging "New Hampshire legislators to reject HB 433 and uphold the protections recently established under SB 359."
Organizations like these warn that "allowing for a rollback on an existing 'no exceptions' child marriage law could set a dangerous precedent, weakening protections for minors and encouraging other states to follow suit." The Fulcrum draws a concerning parallel: "Similar to how the overturning of Roe v. Wade led to widespread rollbacks on reproductive rights, this legislation risks creating a ripple effect, where countless laws designed to protect vulnerable populations are revisited and diluted."
But the battle in New Hampshire reminds us that progress is fragile and exceptions are persistent. Each new carve-out, whether for pregnancy, parental consent, judicial approval, or military service, represents a potential pathway for children to enter marriages that may harm their long-term wellbeing and development. Legislators in New Hampshire have until June 13, 2025, the end of their current legislative session, to decide whether to maintain their comprehensive ban or create a new exception. The fight continues, one state, one bill, and one exception at a time.
Sources include analysis of state legislative data and reporting from The Fulcrum article "One Year After Total Child Marriage Ban, New Hampshire Considers New Exceptions" by Mel Bailey, February 25, 2025.
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