After a nine-year fight led by Unchained At Last and survivors, California has joined Washington and Oregon in ending child marriage without exceptions, a milestone in a nationwide campaign with thirty-two states still to go.
Andrew Villeneuve, Northwest Progressive Institute
Governor Gavin Newsom this week signed a bill to require both parties in a marriage to be at least eighteen years old, putting an end to centuries of bad law that allowed for marriages before one or both parties was below the age of majority and aligning California with its fellow Left Coast states in outlawing what the United States has previously declared a human rights abuse under Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
The legislation is a breakthrough for our dear friends at Unchained At Last, who have been working state by state to get rid of child marriage for good. We helped them get it done in Washington in 2024 and Oregon in 2025. Now they’ve won in California. We couldn’t be prouder. They’re making a huge difference for women and girls!
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“The heart of this effort has always been the survivors,” said Assemblymember Gail Pellerin, the prime sponsor of AB 1267. “They told us what it means to be a child in a marriage you did not freely choose. They told us about coercion and abuse hidden behind the appearance of consent. They told us how difficult it can be for a minor to ask for help, find an attorney, leave home, or escape the very adults who are supposed to protect them. Because of them, California children are safer.”
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