{"id":426087,"date":"2026-08-07T04:12:21","date_gmt":"2026-08-07T04:12:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/426087\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T04:12:21","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T04:12:21","slug":"californias-underage-marriage-law-championed-by-former-child-bride","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/426087\/","title":{"rendered":"California’s underage marriage law championed by former child bride"},"content":{"rendered":"

California could finally slam the door on child marriage<\/a> as lawmakers weigh a bill that would outlaw the controversial practice once and for all.<\/p>\n

Assembly Bill 1267 is headed to a Senate floor vote and would raise the state\u2019s minimum marriage age to 18 with no exceptions. Despite its progressive reputation, California remains one of 33 states that still allows minors to marry<\/a> \u2014 and one of only three with no minimum age requirement on the books.<\/p>\n

A California bill that would ban child marriage is headed to a Senate floor vote as survivors urge lawmakers to end a practice that still allows minors to legally wed. WireImage<\/p>\n

Leading the push is former child bride Courtney Stodden \u2014 who was just 16 when they married then-51-year-old actor Doug Hutchison with their parents\u2019 consent, and has since become one of the nation\u2019s most outspoken advocates for ending child marriage.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy dad walked me down the aisle to an actual pedophile, an actual predator,\u201d Stodden told CBS8<\/a>. \u201cAnd I was never special \u2026 He took my innocence. He took my childhood. He took everything, really.\u201d<\/p>\n

Among those rallying behind the legislation is former child bride Courtney Stodden \u2014 who was 16 when she married then-51-year-old actor Doug Hutchison with her parents\u2019 consent. WireImage<\/p>\n

The couple divorced in 2020. Stodden, who said she once believed the relationship was love, now describes it as grooming.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is what predators don\u2019t think about: Their victims grow up,\u201d Stodden said. \u201cOld soul, so \u2014 you know \u2014 mature for your age \u2026 Those things are words strung together to excuse the abuse of the adults. That\u2019s it.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u201cThis is what predators don\u2019t think about: Their victims grow up,\u201d Stodden said. CBS 8<\/p>\n

Former child bride Christina Sutton said those safeguards did not protect her. Christina Stoden<\/p>\n

Because minors cannot legally enter contracts without parental consent, Stodden\u2019s mother approved the marriage on their behalf.<\/p>\n

California law currently requires a judge to interview a minor and a parent or guardian before approving a marriage license in an effort to identify coercion.<\/p>\n

Former child bride Christina Sutton said those safeguards did not protect her.<\/p>\n

Sutton, 17, married a 22-year-old man in 1994 in Napa County, Calif. Christina Sutton<\/p>\n

Sutton testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee that when a Napa judge asked whether marrying her 22-year-old boyfriend at age 17 was truly her choice, she repeated what her parents had coached her to say.<\/p>\n

\u201cLike most abused children, I chose lying to a judge over risking escalation at home,\u201d Sutton told the committee. \u201cI repeated exactly what my parents had coached me to say: \u2018I am very mature for my age; I am choosing this.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Sutton said she had previously told her mother that her boyfriend would not let her end the relationship.<\/p>\n

Sutton testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee that when a Napa judge asked whether marrying her 22-year-old boyfriend at age 17 was truly her choice, she repeated what her parents had told her to say. CBS 8<\/p>\n

\u201cI can recall saying to my mother, \u2018He won\u2019t let me break up with him,\u2019 and just kind of getting a shrug,\u201d Sutton said. \u201cSo, there was no support. They liked him, so they were happy, and I was stuck in the middle. I was a child.\u201d<\/p>\n

Advocates say married minors also face legal barriers \u2014 including being unable to independently file for divorce, hire an attorney or remain at a domestic violence shelter for more than a few days without parental or guardian approval.<\/p>\n

Fraidy Reiss, founder of survivor-led nonprofit Unchained at Last, said ending child marriage has become a nationwide priority. CBS 8<\/p>\n

Fraidy Reiss, founder of survivor-led nonprofit Unchained at Last, said ending child marriage has become a nationwide priority.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re talking about a human rights abuse; that\u2019s what the US State Department calls it. There\u2019s a good reason for that,\u201d Reiss explained.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re talking about a human rights abuse; that\u2019s what the US State Department calls it. There\u2019s a good reason for that,\u201d Reiss explained. Getty Images<\/p>\n

Unchained at Last analyzed US Census data estimating roughly 35,000 underage marriages occurred in California between 2000 and 2021, with the vast majority involving an underage girl and an adult man.<\/p>\n

\u201cChild marriage destroys almost every aspect of a girl\u2019s life,\u201d Reiss added. \u201cWe\u2019re talking about her health, her education, her economic opportunities, her physical safety.\u201d<\/p>\n

The organization has spent the past nine years lobbying for changes to California law, with AB 1267 marking the latest effort to ban child marriage in the state.<\/p>\n

The bill is awaiting a Senate floor vote. If approved, it would return to the Assembly before heading to Gov. Gavin Newsom. If signed, the law would take effect Jan. 1, 2027.<\/p>\n

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