Legislation would ban marriage by 14- and 15-year-olds

JUNEAU (AP) — A bill in the Alaska House would repeal a provision of law that allows a court to grant permission for someone as young as 14 to marry.

House members last Wednesday adopted the repeal as an amendment to a bill dealing with witness requirements for marriage. A vote on the amended bill was pending and could occur this week. The measure, if it passes, would still have to go to the Senate.

The bill would leave in place another provision of law that allows for 16- and 17-year-olds to marry with parental consent.

Anchorage Rep. Sara Rasmussen offered the amendment. She said she considered it “probably one of the most significant things that we can do as a legislative body this session.”

“I think about 14-year-olds. They're freshmen in high school. They are children,” she said during floor debate, adding later: “We have the opportunity here today to make this change to protect children in Alaska from something that in today's time is not in the best interest of the child.”

The proposal would repeal a section of law that spells out a process under which a court can grant permission for someone as young as 14-years-old to marry. The amendment passed 33-3, with Matanuska Valley Republican Reps. David Eastman, DeLena Johnson and Christopher Kurka voting no.

The latest annual report from the state health department’s Health Analytics and Vital Records Section shows there were no marriages involving individuals younger than 15 between 2016 and 2020 in Alaska. Information provided by that section shows that during that same period, there were 1,672 marriages involving a partner who was between the ages of 15 and 19.

According to the group Unchained At Last, which seeks to end forced and child marriage, six states have set the minimum age for marriage at 18.

Johnson said her mother was married when she was 14. “Have times changed? Maybe. But people haven't,” she said.

“People sometimes make decisions at a young age. People sometimes have to work at a young age. Sometimes, people become adults at a young age,” Johnson said. She said she has not had a swell of people in her district ask her to change marriage laws.

Anchorage Rep. Matt Claman who sponsored the underlying bill that would eliminate the requirement for at least two marriage witnesses, said he supported the amendment.