Oregon Senate votes to raise minimum age for marriage to 18 years old
Oregon's current law states that a 17-year-old can marry so long as they have one parent or guardian's permission. If passed, Senate Bill 548 would have Oregon join the list of 13 other states with a minimum age of 18.
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'Whatever outdated values underpinned the current law, Oregonians today understand how potentially abusive and dangerous it is for children, especially girls, to be legally married as minors,' said Sen. Janeen Sollman (D-Forest Grove).
According to the Senate Majority Office, the state's current policy has 'allowed more than 2,900 adult men to get Oregon marriage licenses with teenage girls between 2000 and 2021.'
Sollman, a co-sponsor for the bill, said, 'Our hearts break to contemplate the situations those children endured.'
The Senate Majority Office also shared that marriage to a 17-year-old can shield pedophiles from charges — as it is illegal for an adult to have a sexual relationship with a minor at least three years younger than them, but not if the two are married.
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Those under the age of 18 often struggle to find legal counsel or file protective orders. And in cases of abuse, the minor cannot be shielded by child protective services.
'This has nothing to do with maturity. No one wakes up on their 18th birthday with newfound wisdom or ability to make decisions,' said Becca Powell with the human rights charity Unchained At Last. 'But what they do wake up with is all the rights of adulthood they didn't have the day before.'
The bill is now headed to the Oregon House of Representatives.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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