- Governor Gretchen Whitmer signed House Bill 4302, the last bill in a package to ban child marriage in Michigan
- The bill modifies Michigan Penal Code and matches with previously signed legislation to protect minors
- Michigan is the 10th state to officially ban child marriage
Governor Gretchen Whitmer has signed the final bill in a push to officially ban child marriage in the state.
This latest bill itself takes out references to spouses under the age of 16, and is part of a bigger package of multiple changes. These include establishing 18 as the minimum age of consent for marriage, preventing secret child marriages from occurring, and ensuring that currently married minors don't lose spousal benefits.
With the signing of this final bill, Michigan is now the 10th state to officially ban child marriage.
According to Unchained at Last, a survivor led non-profit focused on ending child marriage, over 5,400 children were entered into marriage between 2000 and 2021.
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