Why is marrying off children still legal in the United States? Only 13 out of the 50 states have fully banned this disgusting and abusive practice; Even worse, four states actually have no minimum age for legal marriage, meaning any age of child or infant can be married off - to any age partner (including an adult).
There is absolutely no acceptable reason to do this to a child. Sign the petition to demand that the U.S. Congress finally passes long overdue legislation to fully ban child marriage throughout the country.
What's most incomprehensible about this situation is how many Republicans are pushing back against attempts to curtain or prohibit child marriage. Their reasons for keeping child marriage legal are supposedly to preserve "parental rights" and "religious liberty." These are not good reasons for locking children into dangerous legal prisons that lead to violence and assault. If Republican lawmakers' religion or sense of parental duties involve marrying off a literal child, then they're obviously doing something wrong.
Child marriage is so clearly wrong, we shouldn't have to explain all the problems with it. But apparently some politicians are still not convinced, so here we go. Children - primarily young girls - who enter into marriage are 300% more likely to face intimate partner violence. They are vulnerable and often groomed to accept unthinkable situations. Sometimes this is part of an orchestrated attempt by family members or a larger religious community to shield and protect predators, instead of holding them accountable for their crimes.
