
AI-generated summary
For years, California had no minimum marriage age, allowing even teenagers to marry with the consent of their parents and a judge. This law was mainly used to marry off girls to older men, often leading to violence and loss of education.
End of a controversial legal loophole
For years, California remained one of the American states where there was no minimum age for marriage. The parents' consent and a judge's decision were enough for even a teenage child to get married - often to a much older partner. Only now, after numerous appeals and social pressure, have the authorities decided to take such a step.
Governor Gavin Newsom, when signing the bill, emphasized that it was a "long-awaited step toward protecting young Californians and minors." The ceremony was attended by Courtney Stodden - a celebrity who, at the age of 16, was married to a 50-year-old actor. Her story has become a symbol of the fight against child marriage in the US.
Dramatic stories of victims
The new law is the result not only of social debate, but above all of the dramatic stories of thousands of young people. Brittany Bee, a former "child bride", emphasizes that the ban is "a clear signal to the world that children have the right to freedom and to choose their own path." Bee was married off at the age of 17, running away from an abusive home. Unfortunately, as she admits, she "escaped from one trap to another", experiencing violence from her adult husband.
There are many more similar stories. Sara Tasneem, who was forced to marry a man almost twice her age, was just 15 years old when her life changed irrevocably. That day I was forced to be a wife. A year later, I was already a mother and had to quit school, she recalls. Today, Tasneem cannot hide her emotion that her long-standing fight to ban child marriage has finally ended in success.
The scale of the phenomenon is surprising
According to the organization Unchained At Last, approximately 9,000 underage marriages occurred in California each year. In the vast majority of cases, these were girls married to adult men. The lack of divorce options for people under 18 meant that many of them remained in toxic and violent relationships for years, with no chance of escape or support.
Shockingly, child marriage is still legal in 32 US states. California is only the eighteenth state to completely ban the practice. Just a decade ago, underage weddings were allowed throughout the country.
Activists and victims of child marriage hope California's decision will have a domino effect across the United States. Many Americans do not realize that child marriage is still legal in most states, and the consequences of the practice can be tragic.
AI outlook — possibilities, not facts
Over the next 12 months, at least five additional U.S. states will introduce similar bans on underage marriage.
Likely · Within months

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