From The Guardian: The state is currently one of 13 that allow children under 16 to wed, according to Unchained at Last, a nonprofit organization that advocates ending child and forced marriages in the US. Nine of those states have no set minimum age, the group says, relying instead on case law or a judge’s ruling.
Buncombe county, which includes the popular tourist city of Asheville, is a destination for many adults and child brides from nearby states such as Georgia, Kentucky, South Carolina and Tennessee – all of which have raised the minimum marriage age in recent years. Two-thirds of the marriage applications in Buncombe county last year were filed by nonresidents seeking to marry an underage person.
Under current North Carolina law, children as young as 14 can get married if they become pregnant and if a judge allows it. Otherwise, children can wed at 16 with parental permission. Alaska is the only other state whose law expressly allows marriages as young as 14.
State lawmakers are nearing passage of a bill that could finally dampen the state’s appeal as the go-to place to bring child brides – but would still leave it short of a national push to increase the age to 18. The proposed legislation would raise the minimum marriage age from 14 to 16 and limit the age difference between a 16-year-old and their spouse to four years.
