Bill Banning Child Marriage In Missouri Passes Out Of Senate

A bill banning child marriages in Missouri has passed out of the state senate.

SB 767 was approved by a 31-1 vote on April 11. Sen. Mike Moon (R-Ash Grove) was the lone “no” vote. 

During a debate last April, Moon defended minors getting married, saying that he knew a 12-year-old who had married and remains married.

Moon also voted “no” in 2018 to raise the minimum age to marry from 15 to 16, though the bill became law.

Currently, no marriage license can be issued in Missouri for individuals under 16 or issued when one party to the marriage is under 18 and the other party over 21.

Additionally, no marriage license can be issued if either party is under 18 without parental consent.

SB 767, which is sponsored by Sen. Holly Thompson Rehder (R-Scott City), those provisions would be repealed and no license can be issued for individuals under 18.

A study by Unchained At Last found that between 2000 and 2018, there were 8,007 children married in Missouri