By Emma Marsden
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Texas legislators are considering a bill that would eliminate the remaining legal pathway for minors to marry in the state.
House Bill 168, introduced by Democrat Texas state Representative Jon Rosenthal, aims to prohibit all marriages involving individuals under 18, including those who are legally emancipated.
Why It Matters
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Texas enacted reforms to restrict child marriage in 2017, setting the minimum age at 18 but allowing emancipated 16- and 17-year-olds to wed. HB 168 seeks to remove this exception, declaring any marriage involving a person under 18 as void, regardless of emancipation status.
The proposed legislation would also invalidate existing underage marriages, including those involving minors who move into Texas after being married elsewhere. If approved, the legislation would go into effect on September 1, 2025.
What To Know
As reported by Newsweek, child marriage remains legal in most states, many of which allow children as young as 15 or 16 years old to get married. A handful of states have no age requirements at all for marriage.
About 300,000 children have been married between 2000 and 2018, according to Unchained at Last, an organization that fights for laws banning child marriage.
Between those years, over 40,000 minors were legally married in Texas, more than in any other state. Advocates argue that eliminating all exceptions is necessary to protect minors from potential coercion and abuse.
The proposed bill states: "According to the Journal of Adolescent Health, between 2000 and 2018, nearly 300,000 girls and boys under the age of 18 were legally married in the United States and 41,774 of those marriages were in Texas.
"Although child marriage is generally prohibited in Texas, there is still an exception to this prohibition for children who have the disabilities of minority removed by a court order," the bill adds.
"H.B. 168 seeks to prohibit the issuance of a marriage license if either applicant is under the age of 18, regardless of whether the applicant had the disabilities of minority for general purposes removed by a court.
"Further, the bill seeks to establish that a marriage where one of the parties is under the age of 18 is void," the bill concludes.
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What People Are Saying
Houston Democrat Representative Jon Rosenthal said in a statement to Newsweek on Saturday: "I believe the environment is favorable to pass HB 168 this session and I'm optimistic that the Texas House could vote to finally end child marriage in Texas. I have spent weeks talking to my colleagues about this and have had at least one conversation with almost every member of the Body, and some members I've spoken with two or times about this effort. It's been an enlightening experience to say the least."
He added: "I've found that views on this subject do not follow typical dividing lines. I cannot strongly correlate the members' positions to political ideology, or rural/suburban/urban areas, or to members' age or gender or ethnicity. It's fascinating. In the end, I believe there's a good chance that a majority coalition exists that would vote to pass my bill to end child marriage in Texas."
Rosenthal previously stated as reported by The Texas Tribune: "My first concern was with a handful of marriages that we have in this state over the last few years where 40- to 50-year-old men are marrying 16- to 17-year-old girls. While it was only a couple or a few cases a year, I just saw that as horribly egregious."
What Happens Next?
The bill is currently under debate in the Texas Legislature. If enacted, the state would join a growing number that have banned child marriage without exceptions.
If passed, the law would take effect in September, applying only to marriage license applications filed and marriages entered into on or after that date.
05/10/25 5:13 ET: This article was updated with comment from Rosenthal.
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