(KTTN/Missourinet) – A bipartisan effort to raise the legal age to marry in Missouri to 18 without exceptions has stalled, despite significant support. The bill, championed by Sens. Holly Thompson Rehder, R-Scott City, and Lauren Arthur, D-Kansas City, aimed to eliminate child marriages in the state.
Currently, Missouri allows individuals to marry at 16 with parental consent. Rehder expressed frustration with House Republicans, who opposed the bill. “When you look at the statistics that show for a girl that gets married as a teenager before she’s an adult, the divorce rate is almost 80%,” Rehder told Missourinet. “Why would we do that? Why would a parent, knowing that why would the legislators in this building not want to ban child marriage?”
Rep. Mitch Boggs, R-LaRussell, voiced concerns that the bill would allow government intrusion into family matters. Arthur, meanwhile, conveyed her embarrassment over the House’s failure to pass the legislation. “My friends who are apolitical or live in different parts of the country send me messages and say, ‘What is happening in Missouri?’ It makes Missouri look bad, but more importantly, we are not doing enough to protect young girls who are forced into marriages and whose lives are worse in every way as a result,” she said.
The proposed legislation would not have affected existing marriages. Rehder and Arthur plan to reintroduce the bill next year, highlighting a national push from women’s groups to address issues like sex trafficking. “Women, today, in 2024, realize that we have so much more opportunity, our girls have so much more opportunity. We want them to be able to make lifetime commitment decisions when their brains are fully developed,” Rehder stated.
Rehder emphasized the high divorce rates among those who marry as children as a driving factor for the bill. Arthur added, “It’s shameful, in my opinion, and I think it represents the very ugliest parts of politics. I am hopeful that this is not the last attempt that they make to do right and raise the age to 18.”
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