Louisiana lawmakers rejected a bill on Sunday that would have set a minimum age to marry and instead rewrote the measure to allow those under age 18 to wed with a parent’s blessing.
The bill, introduced in March by Democratic state Sen. Yvonne Dorsey-Colomb, would bar anyone under age 16 from marrying in the state and block 16- and 17-year-olds from marrying anyone more than four years older.
When the House took up the bill, several conservative Republicans, whose party controls the chamber, balked at the idea, heavily rewriting the bill to allow those under 18 to marry with parental consent and requiring those under 16 to get judicial consent.
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