The Missouri Senate is again considering legislation that would ban child marriage in Missouri. This year’s bill, sponsored by Sen. Tracy McCreery, D-Olivette, would ban marriages for anyone under 18 without exceptions.

“Right now, currently, Missouri ranks 16th when it comes to child marriage per capita,” McCreery said. “Child marriage puts children at risk of mental and physical health issues, intimate partner abuse, social isolation, and poverty. This is not only a legislative imperative to me, but a moral one.”

A Senate committee held a public hearing this week on her bill. It could vote on the proposal soon.

The State Senate passed a similar bill last year. The proposal died in the House over some Republican concerns that it gives the government the excuse to “intrude” in family marriage.

Sen. Rick Brattin, R-Harrisonville, who has sponsored identical legislation, said it’s not a right-versus-left issue, but a right-versus-wrong issue.

“As a father of three daughters, you know, I see that we’re not what we were 60, 70, 80-years ago,” he said. “So, I think now is the time that we’ve got to update the law, the antiquated aspect of child marriage, and bring it to where it needs to be – adults making adult decisions.”

Fraidy Reiss, with Unchained At Last, which supports women who want to leave arranged and forced marriages, supports McCreery’s bill. She testified that a 16- or 17-year-old getting married is a “death sentence.”

The bill would require that two people getting married must both be legal adults. Former Sen. Holly Thompson Rehder supports the initiative because it hits close to home.

“I derailed my life because it was allowed,” she said. “That is what happens with so many girls. The poverty statistics that you lock yourself into are incredibly high…80% of these marriages end up in divorce. Why would we allow a parent to sign a child up for a lifetime commitment?”

The legislation does not affect any marriages that have already taken place.

During this week’s public hearing, no one testified in opposition to the bill.

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