New Jersey makes it illegal for anyone under 18 to get married

Nicholas Pugliese | NorthJersey

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New Jersey has become the second state to ban marriage by anyone under 18 after Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy signed the prohibition into law Friday.

The law is designed to combat sex trafficking and protect girls from being forced into unwanted marriages by their families.

Until today, 16- and 17-year-olds in New Jersey could get married with parental consent, while additional approval by a judge was required for anyone 15 or younger.

“Studies have consistently showed that minors who enter into marriage — particularly young women — are less likely to graduate from high school and college and more likely to suffer domestic abuse and live in poverty,” Murphy said in a statement announcing his signature. “I am proud to join with the Legislature to make New Jersey a national leader on this important human rights issue.”

Delaware became the first state to outlaw the practice last month, as a growing number of states move to raise their minimum marriage age.

The Legislature approved the same measure last year but it but it was conditionally vetoed by Republican Gov. Chris Christie, who wrote that “an exclusion without exceptions would violate the cultures and traditions of some communities in New Jersey based on religious traditions.”

Between 1995 and 2015, more than 3,600 people under 18 — including at least 166 people under 16 — were married in New Jersey, according to data provided by the state’s Center for Health Statistics and Informatics.

The frequency of such unions has decreased over time: 50 people under 18 got married in 2015, compared with 355 in 1995.

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The United States government has recognized under-18 marriage in other parts of the world as a human rights abuse mainly affecting girls, and ending the practice globally is part of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, to be achieved by 2030.

Some organizations, including New Jersey Right to Life and the New Jersey State Bar Association, were opposed to the outright marriage ban on anyone under 18, calling instead for a ban on anyone 15 or younger while allowing 16- and 17-year-olds to get married with judicial review.

They asked that exceptions be made for pregnant women under 18 who would like to marry the father and for members of the military for whom marriage would help secure benefits for their spouse in the event of their death.

Agudath Israel of America, a Jewish advocacy group, was reportedly also in opposition over concerns the law would curtail child marriages in observant Jewish communities.

Ultimately, their arguments lost out to those of Fraidy Reiss, the founder of a Union County nonprofit called Unchained At Last that helps girls and women escape unwanted unions. Reiss has been pushing for the ban since 2015 and convinced members of both political parties to support it.

She joined the governor for a private signing ceremony in his office on Friday.

"I never imagined it would take this long to end a human rights abuse that destroys girls' lives," she said in an interview. But “I’m so grateful and relieved that we have done this now."

Assemblywoman Nancy Muñoz, R-Union, a bill sponsor, added in a statement that getting the law signed was “a long fight, but well worth it.”

“There are some families in various religious faiths making their daughters marry against their will,” Muñoz said. “Thankfully, New Jersey’s children will now be protected from becoming victims of forced marriages."

Email: pugliese@northjersey.com