By: Miriam Edelman
On September 16, 2024, D.C. Councilmember Brooke Pinto introduced B25-0955 - Child Marriage Prohibition Amendment Act of 2024. This bill would “amend An Act To establish a code of law for the District of Columbia to provide that the age of marital consent shall be 18 years of age with no exceptions, and to prohibit the Clerk from issuing a marriage license to any person who is under the age of 18.” DCNOW supports this legislation.
As a vast majority (11 of 13 members) of the D.C. Council has either introduced, co-introduced, or co-sponsored B25-0955, this bill seems ripe for success. Councilmembers Brianne Nadeau, Janeese Lewis George, Christina Henderson, Robert White, Anita Bonds, Matthew Frumin, Vincent Gray, and Zachary Parker all co-introduced this bill, and Trayon White and Charles Allen co-sponsored it.
This bill would prevent people from Virginia, Maryland, and elsewhere going to the nation’s capital to have child marriages. D.C., Maryland, and Viriginia treat child marriage differently. In D.C., people can get married when they are as young as 16, and individuals under 18 need consent of a parent or guardian to get married unless they had been married. In Maryland, 17-year olds can get married if “(i) the individual has the consent of each living parent, guardian, or legal custodian of the individual;” or
(ii) if the individual does not have the consent required under item (i) of this item, either party to be married gives the clerk a certificate from a licensed physician, licensed physician assistant, or certified nurse practitioner stating that the physician, physician assistant, or nurse practitioner has examined the woman to be married and has found that she is pregnant or has given birth to a child;
Virginia ended child marriage, effective July 1, 2024.
DCNOW, a member of The D.C. Coalition to End Child Marriage, condemns child marriage. In DCNOW’s blog post, entitled “DCNOW Joins The D.C. Coalition to End Child Marriage,” DCNOW called on DC. to “follow the 13 states that ended child marriage by mandating 18 as the youngest age to marry without exceptions.”
DCNOW’s President Rose Brunache remarked, “I commend the D.C. Council for taking on child marriage. This practice can have detrimental, lifelong effects on young girls. Young brides are more likely to be victims of domestic and sexual violence, drop out of high school, suffer from increased medical and mental health issues, and be in poverty in the future. It is more than past time for D.C. to end child marriage.”
DCNOW encourages its members to testify at the upcoming hearing of D.C. Council’s Committee on the Judiciary and Public Safety. The committee, which B25-0955 sponsor D.C. Councilmember Pinto chairs, is very receptive to the legislation, as all of its members either introduced, co-introduced, or co-sponsored this legislation. The hearing will occur at 11:00 a.m. on October 21, 2024, in room 500 of the John A. Wilson Building (1300 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.). To testify at the hearing, register at the D.C. Council’s Hearing Management System at https://lims.dccouncil.gov/hearings by 5:00 p.m. on October 17, 2024. Length of testimony is five minutes for witnesses representing organizations and three minutes for everyone else. Learn about testifying from DCNOW’s blog piece, entitled “How To Testify to the D.C. Council.”
DCNOW urges swift consideration and passage of B25-0955. Child marriage must end.
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