Harrison Thorp 9:12 a.m.
Thursday, January 25, 2018 9:11 am
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CONCORD - New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu wants to raise the minimum age to marry in the Granite State, saying, "It is long past time for us to take affirmative action to prevent child marriage."
The state laws on the books right now say girls at 13 and boys at 14 can marry as long as they have court and parental approval.
House Bill 1587 would raise the minimum age to 16 for both boys and girls, while House Bill 1586 would prohibit judges from OK'ing marriages in which sex between the parties would constitute sexual assault under current state criminal statute.
Sununu, who supports both measures, said as the father of three young children, youngsters at this age don't have the "lived experiences" to make an important lifelong decision such as marriage.
He urged strongly for the updating of such an "antiquated" statute.