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Senators DeMora and Blessing urge ban on marriage under 18 in first hearing on SB 341
Summary
Senators DeMora and Blessing gave sponsor testimony on SB 341, which would eliminate statutory pathways that allow people under 18 to marry, citing survivor accounts and research on harm to underage spouses. The bill received a first hearing with no committee questions recorded.
Senators DeMora and Blessing presented sponsor testimony in the Senate Judiciary Committee’s first hearing on Senate Bill 341, which would prohibit marriage by anyone under 18.
Senator DeMora told the committee the bill “gets rid of the loophole that we have right now that allows children to get married before they're 18,” and emphasized the proposal would not affect marriages between adults. He said minors who marry face legal and practical barriers to leaving abusive homes, seeking shelter or independent legal action. DeMora said survivors told lawmakers they were pressured into marriages that left them “stuck in poverty, abuse, and much worse.”
Senator Blessing, the bill’s co-sponsor, said raising the marriage age to 18 is “the right and just thing to do,” citing survivor testimony about power imbalances and increased risk of domestic violence among underage marriages. He noted social and emotional harms and urged members to support the measure.
Chair Manning recorded the exchange as the bill’s first hearing and invited questions; none were raised during the committee session. No votes or amendments were taken on SB 341 during this meeting.
The committee’s next procedural step for SB 341 was not announced in the hearing record.
