By: Lauren Heffker, LSU Manship School News Service
Published: May 15, 2019
BATON ROUGE–A Louisiana Senate committee moved to advance a bill Tuesday (May 14) that would make 18 years old the youngest possible age for a person to get married in the state
The bill, sponsored by Sen. Yvonne Colomb, D-Baton Rouge, will now move to the Senate floor, where it is expected to be amended.
There is currently no legal minimum for marriage in Louisiana. Presently, 16 and 17-year-olds must have parental consent to be wed, and anyone under the age of 16 must also obtain permission from a juvenile court judge.
In neighboring states like Texas, the minimum age is 16 and requires a judge’s consent. In Mississippi, parental consent is required for men aged 17 and women aged 15 and above. In Arkansas, the minimum age for minors to marry is 17, with parental consent.
Senator Rick Ward III, R-Port Allen, said although made with good intent, the bill will not guarantee a solution.
“A lot of times we make an attempt to take corrective action to something, but as we all know, just because we put something in law that doesn’t necessarily mean that the bad actors follow that law,” Ward said.
Read more in Fox8 News.
LSU Manship School Statehouse Bureau 