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California could finally slam the door on child marriage as lawmakers weigh a bill that would outlaw the controversial practice once and for all.
Assembly Bill 1267 is headed to a Senate floor vote and would raise the state’s minimum marriage age to 18 with no exceptions. Despite its progressive reputation, California remains one of 33 states that still allow minors to marry — and one of only three with no minimum age requirement on the books.
Leading the push is former child bride Courtney Stodden — who was just 16 when they married then-51-year-old actor Doug Hutchison with their parents’ consent, and has since become one of the nation’s most outspoken advocates for ending child marriage.
“My dad walked me down the aisle to an actual pedophile, an actual predator,” Stodden told CBS8. “And I was never special… He took my innocence. He took my childhood. He took everything, really.”
The couple divorced in 2020. Stodden, who said she once believed the relationship was love, now describes it as grooming.
“This is what predators don’t think about: their victims grow up,” Stodden said. “Old soul, so — you know — mature for your age… Those things are words strung together to excuse the abuse of the adults. That’s it.”
Because minors cannot legally enter contracts without parental consent, Stodden’s mother approved the marriage on her behalf.
California law currently requires a judge to interview a minor and a parent or guardian before approving a marriage license in an effort to identify coercion.
Former child bride Christina Sutton said those safeguards did not protect her.
Sutton testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee that when a Napa judge asked whether marrying her 22-year-old boyfriend at age 17 was truly her choice, she repeated what her parents had coached her to say.
“Like most abused children, I chose lying to a judge over risking escalation at home,” Sutton told the committee. “I repeated exactly what my parents had coached me to say: ‘I am very mature for my age; I am choosing this.’”
Sutton said she had previously told her mother that her boyfriend would not let her end the relationship.
“I can recall saying to my mother, ‘he won’t let me break up with him,’ and just kind of getting a shrug,” Sutton said. “So, there was no support. They liked him, so they were happy, and I was stuck in the middle. I was a child.”
Advocates say married minors also face legal barriers — including being unable to independently file for divorce, hire an attorney or remain at a domestic violence shelter for more than a few days without parental or guardian approval.
Fraidy Reiss, founder of survivor-led nonprofit Unchained at Last, said ending child marriage has become a nationwide priority.
“We’re talking about a human rights abuse; that’s what the U.S. State Department calls it. There’s a good reason for that,” Reiss explained.
Unchained at Last analyzed US Census data estimating roughly 35,000 underage marriages occurred in California between 2000 and 2021, with the vast majority involving an underage girl and an adult man.
“Child marriage destroys almost every aspect of a girl’s life,” Reiss added. “We’re talking about her health, her education, her economic opportunities, her physical safety.”
The organization has spent the past nine years lobbying for changes to California law, with AB 1267 marking the latest effort to ban child marriage in the state.
The bill is awaiting a Senate floor vote. If approved, it would return to the Assembly before heading to Gov. Gavin Newsom. If signed, the law would take effect Jan. 1, 2027.
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