West Virginia GOP Blocks Ban On Child Marriages

The Associated Press reports:

A bill that would have prohibited minors from getting married in West Virginia was defeated Wednesday night in a legislative committee. The Republican-dominated Senate Judiciary Committee rejected the bill on a 9-8 vote, a week after it passed the House of Delegates.

Some of the bill’s opponents have argued that teenage marriages are a part of life in West Virginia.

Kanawha County Republican Sen. Mike Stuart, a former federal prosecutor who sided with the majority, said his vote “wasn’t a vote against women.” He said his mother was married when she was 16, and “six months later, I came along. I’m the luckiest guy in the world.”

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I want to make it very clear that no one spoke against the bill. They just made the clearly pre-determined motions and killed the bill. No one admitted why they think children as young as infants should be legally allowed to be married off.

— Kayla Young (@kaylayoungforwv) March 9, 2023