Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed a bill Thursday that prohibits marriage to those under 18 in New York.
“This administration fought hard to successfully end child marriage in New York and I am proud to sign this legislation to strengthen our laws and further protect vulnerable children from exploitation,” said Cuomo.
Nalia’s Law, named after a survivor who was forced into child marriage, raises the age of consent for marriage from 17 to 18 years.
In 2017, Cuomo signed a law that raised the age of consent from 14 to 18, but left open the possibility for people between the ages of 17 and 18 to marry if they obtained parental or guardian consent.
The new law repeals that exception and prohibits any marriage in which either person is under 18 years of age.
“The cruel and callous practice of child marriage has traumatized too many children to count,” said State Assemblyman Phil Ramos (D-Long Island). “With the passage of this crucial legislation, minors in New York will be more protected from this predatory practice, and we can prevent stories like Nalia’s from repeating themselves.”
Anyone who issues a marriage license if one or both persons are minors will be guilty of a misdemeanor and must pay $ 100, depending on the bill.
The law change will help protect teenage girls who make up the vast majority of minors who marry, according to State Sen. Julia Salazar (D – Brooklyn), a sponsor of the bill in the upper house.
“The vast majority of minors who marry are teenagers, and marrying before adulthood often has devastating consequences for them,” Salazar said. “Regardless of the level of maturity, minors lack the necessary legal rights and autonomy to protect them if they sign a marriage contract before they become adults.”
The bill takes effect 30 days after becoming law and will apply to licenses issued after that date and to marriages that have not been marked with a formal ceremony before that date.
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