Governor Gavin Newsom signed legislation on Wednesday establishing 18 as California’s minimum age for marriage and domestic partnerships, a change actively sought for years by the Tustin-based organization Global Hope 365. The new law ends provisions that previously allowed minors to marry or enter domestic partnerships with parental consent.
Assembly Bill 1267, authored by Assemblywoman Gail Pellerin of Santa Cruz, officially repeals the prior legal framework. Governor Newsom commented on the new measure, stating it was "a long overdue measure to protect young Californians and minors." He further added that, "Today, California kids are safer than ever before."
The bill was sponsored by Unchained at Last and the California Commission on the Status of Women and Girls. According to the governor’s office, California joins seventeen other states that have completely banned child marriage without exception. Global Hope 365 noted that California had been one of just three states lacking a statutory minimum marriage age, where the prior law required minors to have parental consent and court approval to marry.
Global Hope 365 reported that approximately 35,000 marriages involving minors took place in California between 2000 and 2021. The organization indicated that the majority of these instances involved an underage girl marrying an adult man.
Governor Newsom signed the bill during an event alongside media personality and advocate Courtney Stodden. Stodden shared her personal experience, stating her parents had permitted her to marry actor Doug Hutchison when she was 16 years old and he was 50. Stodden expressed her gratitude, noting that Governor Newsom's action affirmed to her and other survivors of child marriage that they "should never have been expected to carry this burden." She also thanked Unchained At Last and every survivor who contributed to the effort, calling California's change a victory and committing to continue fighting for children's protection from marriage across all 50 states.
Global Hope 365 played a key role in the campaign to end child marriage, leading efforts through its California Coalition to End Child Marriage. Rima Nashashibi, founder and president of Global Hope 365 and founder of the California Coalition to End Child Marriage, acknowledged the organization's significant involvement. Nashashibi extended thanks to all the allies who supported the multi-year fight to end child marriage under 18 with no exceptions in California.
The organization also highlighted broad local support for the measure. Global Hope 365 stated that resolutions supporting a statewide minimum marriage age of 18 were approved by 18 California cities. This included 16 cities within Orange County, alongside Culver City and Maywood in Los Angeles County.
Assemblywoman Pellerin emphasized the foundational role of survivors in the legislative effort. She explained that survivors provided accounts of being children in marriages they did not freely choose, detailing coercion and abuse concealed by the appearance of consent. Pellerin noted their struggles as minors to seek help, find legal counsel, leave home, or escape the very adults entrusted with their protection, concluding that their testimonies made California children safer.
