Senators amended a bill restricting underage marriages in West Virginia to have a floor of 16 years old, and it now includes a provision that the marital partner may be no more than four years older.
“So we’re not going to have 16- or 17-year-olds marrying 25- or 26- or 27-year-olds,” said Senate Judiciary Chairman Charles Trump, R-Morgan.
The bill passed the Senate 31-1 on Friday evening. It returns to the House of Delegates, which will have to decide whether to agree or reject the change from the original bill, which would have prevented all marriages under age 18.
As Trump presented the proposed change, he commented, “My hope is this will be viewed as a reasonable and acceptable compromise and a necessary change to our law.”
In his comments in support of the bill, Trump spoke of a 16-year-old girl who married a 40-year-old man. And another, a 16-year-old-girl who married a 49-year-old male.
“We have to stop this as it’s permitted under our current law. And it’s horrifying,” he said.
House Bill 3018 would restrict the ability of an underage person to obtain consent to marry through their parents, legal guardians or by petition to circuit court. It overwhelmingly passed the full House of Delegates last week.
A majority of the members of the Senate Judiciary Committee narrowly voted against reporting the bill to the floor earlier this week. The following evening, the committee chairman won a surprise floor vote to have the bill discharged from committee.
Trump began his presentation of the bill on Friday evening by apologizing for the unorthodox process on the bill over the past few days. He said an attempt to table the bill in committee had rattled him at the time.
Senator Mike Stuart, R-Kanawha, one of the Judiciary Committee members who had voted against advancing the bill, spoke in favor of the amendment on Friday evening.
Taking note of negative national attention, Stuart said “I don’t know that there’s been another subject distorted in the national subject as this story.”
Stuart said on Friday night, as he did in committee and again on the floor Thursday, that his parents married as teenagers. “My mom and dad are my American heroes,” he said. “And I won’t apologize for that. Fifty years later, they’re like giddy teenagers who can’t keep their hands off each other.”
Senator Eric Tarr, R-Putnam, argued against the original version of the bill by saying marriage and the family are under attack. “The bill we have before us protects family,” he said. “I do believe the bill that came over was destructive to families.”
Tarr said he got married in high school and had his first son five days after graduation. “Being able to marry at 17 years old to my wife, who was also 17, gave that young man a family,” Tarr said.
Senate Minority Leader Mike Woelfel, D-Cabell, spoke against changes to the bill. “We should stick at 18. That’s what came over from the House. These young people have tremendous financial pressure. Not all stories are happy endings.”
Woelfel was the only vote against the final version of the bill.
“Marriage is for adults,” he said. “I urge rejection.”
Senator Mike Caputo, D-Marion, agreed but voted for the final version. “Let’s make it 18,” he said.
Delegate Kayla Young, the lead sponsor of the bill, posted on social media that she is glad the amendment continued to make the bill viable as it returns to the House.
The bill likely would have died without the amendment (ew), so I am glad that once the House concurs (tomorrow likely), we will at least have a floor on the age of marriage in WV and stop the largest age gaps.This is a huge step to protecting our youngest children. https://t.co/ibBsX0HzbH
— Kayla Young (@kaylayoungforwv) March 11, 2023