Let's take a look at the
minimum age for marriage in various U.S. states. Let's just provide a few examples from the list:
- California - None
- Massachusetts - None
- Delaware - None
- Kansas - 15
- Maryland - 15
- New Hampshire - 13 for females, 14 for males
- Michigan - None
- Maine - None
- Ohio - None
- Rhode Island - None
- Washington - None
Yes, however
California is still near the top for child marriages per one thousand in the U.S.
While we are at it - let's take a look at one state in more detail - a state so extreme in allowing child marriages that it's laws have been compared to the Taliban in Afghanistan -
Massachusetts
Although Massachusetts is considered a progressive state, it actually has some of the most extreme child marriage laws in the US. With court consent, there is no minimum age of marriage – in the absence of any statutory minimum age, one opinion is that the traditional minimum
common law marriageable age of 12 for girls and 14 for boys may still be in effect.
[24][25] Furthermore, unlike many other states,
[10] in Massachusetts a child's marriage does not automatically emancipate the minor, or increase his or her legal rights beyond allowing the minor to consent to certain medical treatments