NC laws lead to higher-than-average child marriage rates – Daily Tar Heel

Although census data shows child marriages in the United States are rare, a report by the Tahirih Justice Center shows varying state laws directly contribute to minors getting legally married.

The report discusses North Carolina laws regarding child marriage — such as the fact that a pregnancy lowers the age floor for legal marriage to 14 years old in the state.

Jeanne Smoot, senior counsel for policy and strategy at the Tahirih Justice Center and author of the report, said she assumed child marriages were a rare occurrence and a thing of past generations. She was shocked at what the report found.

Read more here: http://www.dailytarheel.com/article/2017/09/nc-laws-lead-to-higher-than-average-child-marriage-rates