Sherry Johnson, just 11 years old at the time, stood in a Florida courtroom in 1971 wearing what she later described as a wedding dress. She was about to be married against her will to a church deacon who had raped her and made her the mother of his child at age 10.

Ms. Johnson’s marriage, forced upon her through legal and religious channels, exposed a glaring legal anomaly: In Florida at the time, children of any age could be married with judicial approval if pregnant. Her case became the catalyst for change in her home state; after years of advocacy, in 2018, Florida finally passed legislation tightening its marriage laws.

Though Ms. Johnson’s ordeal occurred decades ago, her story is a stark entry point into a broader, often overlooked question in the United States: Why is child marriage still legal in large parts of this country – and what are states doing about it?

This year alone, three states and Washington, D.C., have enacted total bans on child marriage, defined as marriage under age 18, with no exceptions for parental consent, judicial approval, pregnancy, or emancipation. Another 12 states have acted since 2018, but that leaves 34 states where minors can legally marry under some circumstances.

“Various organizations have spearheaded the movement for legal reform throughout the country, and they’ve had some pushback by some states, and so have decided to focus on states where they have not reached a dead end,” the director of the Domestic Violence Institute at the Northeastern University School of Law, Hayat Bearat, tells The New York Sun. 

“California is an example where the movement has stalled because of the proponents of the right to bodily autonomy and reproductive rights viewing that banning child marriage can limit those rights.”

She said several other states oppose a strict  ban on child marriages on grounds that include the right of parents to make decisions about their children; the religious implications of becoming an unwed mother; and “the clear divide between rural and urban views on child marriages.”

A Persistent Legal Loophole in American Law

There is no federal minimum marriage age, despite the State Department’s 2005 proclamation that forced child marriage is a form of child and human rights abuse. With each state setting its own rules, the advocacy group Unchained At Last calculates that more than 300,000 minors were married between 2000 and 2021 – some as young as 10 years old.

“Child marriage can easily be forced, because children have limited legal rights and therefore face overwhelming legal and practical barriers if they try to escape or resist an unwanted marriage,” a spokeswoman for the advocacy group Unchained At Last, Alex Boyer Coffey, told the Sun. 

“Child marriage destroys nearly every aspect of a girl’s life; indeed, it is recognized globally as a harmful practice that disempowers women and girls in particular and hinders gender equality.”

Some states record especially high numbers. Between 2000 and 2018, Texas reported roughly 41,774 child marriages, and California about 23,500. Girls are disproportionately affected: About 6.8 girls per 1,000 aged 15 to 17 are married, compared with 5.7 boys. Children from rural, immigrant, or religiously conservative backgrounds are overrepresented.

A Reform Tide Gains Strength

Despite decades of inertia, a reform tide has arisen. Since Delaware became the first state to enact a total ban on marriage under 18 in 2018, another 15 states and the District of Columbia have followed suit.

Virginia, in 2024, enacted the first total ban in the American South. Maine and Missouri both put through reforms this year.

Missouri’s law stands out for closing long-standing exemptions, including judicial waivers and the emancipated-minor loophole, in which a court releases a minor from parental control. Advocates have hailed the changes for ending the state’s reputation as a “destination” for child marriage. 

Still, 34 states continue to allow exceptions. Even after reforms, Florida permits 17-year-olds to marry under certain conditions, and four states – California, Mississippi, New Mexico, and Oklahoma – have no statutory minimum age in some circumstances.

Why It Persists – and Where It’s Most Common

Researchers and legal analysts trace the endurance of child marriage to a mix of poverty, lower educational attainment, high teen pregnancy, and religious culture. A 2018 World Policy Center study found that states with those markers show a higher prevalence of under-18 marriage.

The South and West bear the brunt: States such as West Virginia, Texas, and Nevada report rates more than twice as high as those in much of the Northeast. Legal structures compound the problem; many states allow judicial discretion or parental consent to override age limits.

Ms. Bearat underscored that the political resistance runs deep. 

“There are opposing sides of the political spectrum that unite on not wanting to ban marriages for those under 18. The liberal argument is related to the right to bodily autonomy and reproductive rights,” she said. 

“The conservative arguments are tied to parents having a constitutional right to determine how to raise their children, and so they should be able to make that decision. It rejects the notion of best interest and is deeply rooted in the history of the United States.”

Supporters of existing exceptions typically frame the issue as one of parental rights and family autonomy. In rural or religious communities, early marriage can be viewed as a way to preserve family honor or manage the consequences of teenage pregnancy. Lawmakers in states like Idaho and Wyoming have argued that family discretion should prevail over age-based restrictions.

Others claim that denying legal marriage to pregnant minors might push them toward informal arrangements or greater hardship.

Reform advocates counter that minors cannot sign contracts, lease property, or even file for divorce independently – making such unions inherently unequal. Many of these marriages, they note, involve adult men and underage girls, creating structural conditions ripe for exploitation.

“Child marriage isn’t an immigrant issue as many have wanted to point fingers at,” Ms. Bearat said. “However, the loophole that presently exists in our federal immigration laws incentivizes child marriages by allowing children to be brought to the U.S. on spousal or fiancé visas. The rates have decreased over the years, but they are still too high.”

American immigration law allows spousal or fiancé visas for marriages involving minors, provided the marriage is legally recognized in the country where it took place. From Ms. Bearat’s viewpoint, these laws should be changed so that, unless a humanitarian waiver is granted, both people in a marriage-related visa petition must be at least 18.

A Turning Point—or Another Pause?

The contradiction is glaring: America routinely condemns child marriage abroad but allows it at home. The Council on Foreign Relations calls this a “credibility gap” that undermines American authority on human-rights issues.

Marriage laws can even nullify statutory-rape protections. Because a marriage license can preclude prosecution, what would otherwise be a felony can become legal through the minor’s coerced assent. Legal scholars see this as a structural loophole that shields predators and endangers children.

For policymakers balancing personal liberty against the protection of children, the recent reforms have succeeded in closing judicial and parental exceptions; aligning statutes with age-of-consent laws; and preserving cultural freedom without sacrificing children’s safety. 

With 16 states now enforcing complete bans and many others tightening restrictions, the United States may be approaching a tipping point. Yet pockets of resistance persist, especially in states where family and religious autonomy outweigh concerns for child welfare.

The uneven landscape has prompted renewed calls for federal standards – or at least uniform state legislation – to eliminate exceptions entirely. 

“All 50 states should have their minimum marriage age be 18 and not provide parental or judicial consent as a loophole for child marriages,” Ms. Bearat said.