Current SC law requires citizens to be 16 to marry
By Skylar Laird
SCDailyGazette.com
COLUMBIA — In South Carolina, 16- and 17-year-olds can’t smoke, open a credit card or vote, but they can get married under a law some legislators and advocates are trying to change.
Until 2019, a loophole in state law allowed judges to issue marriage licenses to children of any age if they were pregnant or gave birth, allowing thousands to get married over the course of two decades. A law passed that year made clear that only those 16 and up could get married, with parental permission.
But as more states do away with underage marriage altogether, some are pushing South Carolina to set a firm floor of 18 years old.
Senate Minority Leader Brad Hutto is trying again to get a bill he’s proposed during every two-year session since 2019 past the finish line. The proposal didn’t get a hearing during last year’s legislative session.
“I think that (marriage) is one of the biggest decisions anyone will ever make,” the Orangeburg Democrat said. “It should be done by someone whose mind is fully developed.”
Teenagers don’t magically wake up more mature on their 18th birthday than they were at 17, said Alex Goyette with Tahirih Justice Center, who advocates for bills raising the minimum marriage age.
But 18-year-olds have more opportunities than 17-year-olds. As someone who’s considered an adult by law, an 18-year-old can hire a lawyer and sign other legal documents on their own. Finding an apartment is easier, as is finding a full-time job, Goyette said.
“That’s really important for someone who is trying to resist an unwanted marriage or to leave an abusive situation,” he said.
Since Delaware became the first state to set a minimum age of 18 for marriage in 2018, 15 states have followed suit, according to the Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit center, which works to protect women from violence and help victims. Five of those states did so within the past year.
South Carolina is one of 20 states that allows people as young as 16 to get married. Six states allow marriage as young as 15 or don’t have an age limit at all, according to the advocacy group.
The biggest challenge the advocacy group faces is time. Bills about their states’ legal marrying age generally aren’t among legislators’ top priorities, making it more difficult to get a hearing scheduled amid the frequent chaos of a part-year legislative session, Goyette said.
But the issue is an important one, with the potential for far-reaching impacts, he added.
Girls married before turning 18 are more likely to face domestic abuse than their counterparts, according to studies Tahirih Justice Center compiled. Marrying young often separates girls from support networks they might otherwise form through school, friends and family, making it more difficult for many to get help, Goyette said.
Underage brides are also less likely to finish high school or attend college, more likely to live in poverty, and more susceptible to long-term mental and physical health problems, according to the nonprofit.
“This, obviously, has devastating lifelong harms,” Goyette said.
Between 70% and 80% of marriages that include someone under the age of 18 end in divorce, the advocacy group found.
“These are not the foundational lifelong partnerships that we like to think of when we’re talking about a marriage,” Goyette said.
As more states raise the legal age for marriage, Goyette worries people may start traveling to South Carolina to take advantage of its comparatively lax laws about marrying underage, he said.
Some of South Carolina’s neighboring states have already approved stricter laws.
In Georgia, marriage is limited to those who are 18 and older. Tennessee and Florida both have age floors of 17. North Carolina also has a minimum marriage age of 16, but its law includes more safeguards, including allowing the other spouse to be no more than four years older and requiring a judge to evaluate whether the marriage “serves the best interest” of the person under 18.
South Carolina’s law does not include such safeguards that could prevent some unwanted marriages, Goyette said. As long as a minor’s parent signs off, any certified official can issue a 16-year-old a marriage license in the state.
“Until every state moves on this issue, kids across the United States are in danger,” Goyette said.
Skylar Laird covers the South Carolina Legislature and criminal justice issues. Originally from Missouri, she previously worked for The Post and Courier’s Columbia bureau. The S.C. Daily Gazette is part of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization.
