New West Virginia law seeks to end under-16 year old marriages

CHARLESTON, West Virginia: After being amended to prohibit anyone younger than 16 years old from getting married, as well as banning age gaps of more than four years for 16 and 17-year-olds, a child marriage bill was passed by the West Virginia Senate on March 10th.

The bill was passed on a 31-1 vote and will be sent to the House of Delegates.

Children can marry as young as 16 in the state with parental c