Ending Child Marriage Laws in Colorado and Montana

Ending Child Marriage: Obstacles and Experiences Zonta District 12 Conference Billings, Montana September 20-22, 2019 PRESENTED BY Denise Parrish, D12 Advocacy Chair

Thank you, Melanie Tripp! 2

Current Law COLORADO ( 5/31/19) Age 18 or older without restrictions Age 16 18 Judicial approval from juvenile court, after reasonable effort has been made to notify the parents or legal guardians of each underage party Court must find, AFTER REVIEWING THE REPORT OF THE APPOINTED GUARDIAN AD LITEM, that the underage party is capable of assuming the responsibilities of marriage and that the marriage would serve the underage party s best interest. Pregnancy alone does not establish that the best interest of the party would be served. Guardian Ad Litem must consider a number of things, including the ability of the underage party to manage financial, personal, social, educational, and non-financial affairs independent of his/her intended spouse DURING THE MARRIAGE OR UPON DISSOLUTION OF THE MARRIAGE. Not allowed under age 16 3

Current Law COLORADO ( 5/31/19) Colorado Law also bestows the following rights to married people < age 18 Right to establish domicile separate from the married person s parents Right to file motions and petitions with a court in the married person s name and on the married person s own behalf Right to enter into enforceable contracts, including but not limited to leases for housing Right to consent to and make decisions concerning the married person s own medical care 4

Current Law -- MONTANA Age 18 or older without restrictions Age 16-18 If both parents consent, or The custodial parent or guardian consents, or If no parent or guardian capable of giving consent, the court may consent if Two sessions of marriage counseling are undertaken, not less than ten days apart, with a designated counselor, and The court finds that the youth is capable of assuming the responsibilities of marriage and the marriage will be in the person s best interest. Pregnancy does not alone establish the best interest. Not allowed if < age 16 5

Tried but Failed -- MONTANA 2019 Session of the Montana Legislature HB 533 Primary Sponsor Representative Jessica Karjala (HD 48) Prohibit the Marriage of Persons under 18 years of age Can listen to or watch the hearing on the bill in the Judiciary Committee 2/21/19 (starting around minute 8) http://sg001- harmony.sliq.net/00309/Harmony/en/PowerBrowser /PowerBrowserV2/20190221/-1/34649 6

Current Law SOUTH DAKOTA Age 18 or older without restrictions Age 16-18 Must provide a notarized statement of consent to marry from one parent or one legal guardian Not allowed under age 16 Both parties must sign and acknowledge the following statement which is part of the application for a marriage license: The laws of this state affirm your right to enter into this marriage and at the same time to live within the marriage free from violence and abuse. Neither of you is the property of the other. Physical abuse, battery and assault of a spouse or other family member, as well as other provisions of the criminal laws of this state, are applicable to spouses and other family members and violations thereof are punishable by law. 7

Current Law -- WYOMING Age 18 or older without restrictions Age 16-18 If present before the official, the verbal consent of the parent, guardian, or person having care and control of the minor, or the written consent of the parent, guardian, orperson having the care and control of the minor with written consent proved by the testimony of at least one competent witness, or Consent from the court Under age 16 Consent of the court is required 8

Tried but Failed WYOMING 2019 Session of the Wyoming Legislature HB 60 Primary Sponsor Representative Charles Pelkey (HD 45) Prohibit the Marriage of Persons under the Age of 18 Several amendments offered during the session to try to get it passed (such as making minimum age 16) but the bill still failed on third reading 26-31-3 9

Federal Law S 742 Introduced 3/12/19 Senator Ron Johnson (R WI) Tries to eliminate Visa Loopholes Currently: A US citizen child may petition for an immigrant visa for a spouse or fianc living in another country (nearly 3,000 approvals 2007-2017)) A US citizen adult may petition for an immigrant visa for a minor spouse or fianc living abroad (>5,000 approvals 2007-2017) Bill would establish a minimum age of 18 years for marriage- based and fianc -based immigration visa petitions Has been referred to the Senate Committee on the Judiciary Similar bill introduced in the House of Representatives (H.R. 1738) by Representative James Sensenbrenner, Jr. (R-WI) Yet another similar bill (H.R. 2175) introduced in the House by Representative Duncan Hunter (R-CA) 10

Reasons to End Child Marriage 70-80% of marriages involving children under age 18 end in divorce More than doubles the likelihood of poverty Often curtails education and work opportunities 50% more likely to drop out of high school 4 times less likely to complete college More likely to experience range of serious medical problems 23% greater risk of disease onset including heart attack, diabetes, cancer, and stroke Substantially higher rates of domestic violence If marriage does not work out, the underage party may not be able to go to a shelter or enter into a contract with a lawyer to file for divorce May be used as a ploy to avoid statutory rape 11

Road Blocks Pregnancy Better to be Married with Two Parents than have an Illegitimate Child Parental Involvement Keep Government Out of our Family Decisions Religion It is our religious or cultural way Emancipated Child She/he should have all the same rights as an adult Love She is in Love and oh so mature she knows what she wants 12

What if You Drafted the Legislation? Divide into Groups Each group decide Will you make a law that is 18 or older no exceptions or A law with exceptions what will the exceptions be Present proposals to the other groups 13

Diagram from Aragon High School Parent Programming Night, Spring 2019

UNDERSTANDING THE TEEN BRAIN It doesn t matter how smart teens are or how well they scored on the SAT or ACT. Good judgment isn t something they can excel in, at least not yet. The rational part of a teen s brain isn t fully developed and won t be until age 25 or so. In fact, recent research has found that adult and teen brains work differently. Adults think with the prefrontal cortex, the brain s rational part. This is the part of the brain that responds to situations with good judgement and an awareness of long term consequences. Teens process information with the amygdala. This is the emotional part. In teen s brains the connections between the emotional part of the brain and the decision- making center are still developing and not always at the same rate. That s why when teens have overwhelming emotional input, they can t explain later what they were thinking. They weren t thinking as much as they were feeling. Stanford Children s Health 15

Now What? 16