Secular Strategies

Celebrating some good news from May. 👏

This month, Oklahoma became the 17th state in the U.S. to ban child marriage.

Oklahoma recently passed SB 504, requiring anyone in the state who wishes to get married to be at least 18 years old, with no exceptions. It will go into effect on November 1st.

It passed through the state Senate unanimously and was enacted without the signature of Republican Governor Kevin Stitt after he declined to take a position on the measure (ew).

⚠️ Between 2000 and 2018, nearly 300,000 children as young as 10 were legally married in the U.S. The majority of whom were girls wed to adult men, according to Unchained At Last

Child marriage leaves minors—particularly girls—vulnerable and open to abuse, since they have limited legal rights.

And with laws differing by state, it makes it far too easy to transport minors across state lines (read: trafficking) to marry them in a state where it’s still legal.

Child marriage is still legal in a disturbing number of states and we won’t be satisfied until it’s banned in all 50. One state closer!