New Louisiana Bill Will Finally Set A Minimum Age for Marriage
Yesterday a house committee advanced a bill that would set a minimum age for marriage in Louisiana. You heard that right, with proper parental consent, there is no such legal thing as "too young" to get married in the Bayou State. According to a report from the Bossier Press:
Minors need parental consent to get married, and if they are under 16 they need parental consent and the authorization from a juvenile court judge."
In Texas the minimum age is 16 with a judges consent, and in Arkansas it's 17 with parents permission. Louisiana is among the 16 states that don't legally define a minimum age, but that may soon change. A new bill introduced by Sen. Yvonne Colomb, D-Baton Rouge, would set that firmly at 16 and would require parents permission. Rep. Tanner Magee, R-Houma, and Rep. Mike Johnson, R-Pineville both argued that 16 was still too young and suggested that the age be raised to 18 years old.
The proposed law, with the agreed upon minimum age off 16, has made it past the first set of legal hurdles in the state senate and is well on its way to becoming a law. The new marriage rules now move to the house for final passage.