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One social issue that often gets swept under the rug is that of child marriage. More often than not, child marriage involves minor girls under the age of 18 marrying adult men who are significantly older than them. Various organizations exist to fight child marriage, such as Girls Not Brides, Too Young to Wed, and Equality Now. Nevertheless, the stain of child marriage remains very much alive. Some folks may be shocked to learn that this is not mutually exclusive to third-world, underdeveloped nations either. Here in America, only seven states have totally banned child marriage with no exceptions. The remaining 43 states permit child marriage so long as a parent or judge approves it. In 20 of these 43 states, there is not even an age limit put on a child who can legally wed.

The latest information on child marriage

Towards the end of last month, England, in addition to Wales, strictly prohibited child marriage. There are zero caveats or exceptions to this ban. No one under the age of 18 in either of these countries can get married. However, the same cannot be said about the United States. In real-time, Congress has yet to pass a clean bill at the federal level that bans child marriage across the board. Even at the state level, anti-child marriage bills continue to struggle. In West Virginia, lawmakers in the state Senate narrowly blocked a bill that would have banned marriage for anyone under the age of 18 without exceptions. Coincidentially, West Virginia also suffers from some of the most elevated rates of child marriage in the United States. The legislation that did pass in the West Virginia state legislature permits marriage for 16 and 17-year-olds.

The dangers of child marriage

Child marriage's inherently insidious nature can't be overstated. It is well-documented that child marriage often protects predators who'd otherwise face statutory rape laws amid sexual contact with minors. Here in America, the very existence of child marriage breaks 14 different states' laws on statutory rape. Our nation's leaders cannot profess to care about children and protecting children, while allowing them to be married off to adults if the right people sign pieces of paper. For the sake of protecting children and stopping predators, Congress must pass a federal ban on child marriage with no exceptions.