Michigan House votes to outlaw child marriage

Lansing — The Michigan House voted Wednesday to set the legal age of marriage at no younger than 18, eliminating an exemption that allowed individuals between the ages of 16 and 18 to marry with parental consent.

The 10-bill package passed with mostly bipartisan support in the 110-member House, with just five Republicans consistently voting against the legislation. The bills will move next to the state Senate, which is expected to take up their own versions of the legislation Thursday.

Rep. Kara Hope, a Holt Democrat who was one of the package’s main sponsors, argued Michigan's outdated child marriage law resulted in psychological and social trauma and made it easier for human traffickers to work in the state.

Michigan, which had roughly 5,000 children married between 2000 and 2021, is one of about 42 states where child marriage is legal, according to data from Equality Now, a New York-based women's rights organization. Eight other states have set the legal age to marry at 18.

“It’s hard to believe that this practice is still legal in Michigan in the year 2023,” Hope said.

Currently, under Michigan law, 16- and 17-year-olds are required to get written consent of a parent or legal guardian, and children under the age of 16 must get permission from a judge and written consent from a parent or guardian.

Rep. Kristian Grant, a Grand Rapids Democrat who helped sponsor the package, said outlawing child marriage had not been a priority of past legislatures. Republicans controlled the House from 2011 through the end of last year and the Senate since 1984 until Democrats won control of both chambers in last November's election.

“Marrying children to full grown adults is not safe,” Grant said. “We have failed to protect the children when it comes to child marriage, especially when it comes to young girls.”

The bills would not apply retroactively to existing marriages in which individuals were under the age of 18 at the time and Michigan would still recognize the marriage of an individual married in another state.

The legislation also does not change Michigan’s age of consent laws, which require teenagers to be at least 16 to have consensual sex with an adult.

Republican lawmakers voting against the bills included state Reps. Matt Maddock of Milford, Steve Carra of Three Rivers, Angela Rigas of Caledonia, Josh Schriver of Oxford and Neil Friske of Charlevoix.

"This is a harsh law based on an ideology that removes reasonable options for any exceptions for people who want to marry before 18 — like my wonderful mother-in-law," Maddock said in a statement.

eleblanc@detroitnews.com