‘We don’t want our girls to get married’: Push to raise wedding age to 18 – Minnesota Star Tribune

An effort to raise Minnesota’s legal marriage age to 18 without exception appears to be gaining traction at the State Capitol this year.

Existing state law allows 16- and 17-year-olds in the state to wed with permission from a parent and a judge’s approval. But some lawmakers want to fully ban the practice for anyone under 18, citing concerns that the loophole leads to forced marriages, teen pregnancies and a loss in educational opportunities.

“We as adults, we are the ones who know better and so we should do better to protect our children,” said Rep. Kaohly Her, a St. Paul Democrat sponsoring the legislation in the state House.

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