Connecticut Considers Raising the Legal Age to Marry to 18 — No Exceptions – CT News Junkie

Connecticut Considers Raising the Legal Age to Marry to 18 — No Exceptions

Child advocates and a bipartisan group of lawmakers pushed Monday for passage of legislation to close a loophole in state law allowing for 16- and 17-year-olds to marry, arguing that Connecticut risks becoming a destination for adults seeking to marry minors.

In most cases, current law requires people to be at least 18 years old in order to marry in Connecticut. However, that policy, adopted in 2017, allows 16 and 17-year-olds to marry with parental consent and the approval of a probate court judge.

Thirty-one minors, most of them girls, have been married in the state during the intervening years, the governor’s chief of staff told the Judiciary Committee last month. The committee has drafted a bill to scrap the loophole and raise the age of marriage to 18 as most surrounding states have done.

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