New legislator pushes to raise state marriage age – Hastings Tribune

CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — Some girls said they were isolated from friends and family during their marriages. Others said their husbands physically abused them. More said they missed out on the chance to finish high school or go to college.

Rep. Cassandra Levesque, 19, who pushed for the law to raise New Hampshire’s minimum marriage age to 16 last year as part of a Girl Scout project, said she received dozens of messages from girls who told her they were forced into child marriages.

Now, Levesque, a newly-elected state legislator, said she feels a responsibility to continue to fight for the young women who entrusted her with their stories. She filed a bill this legislative session that would raise the state marriage age even higher — to 18.