California bans child marriage, a practice still legal in 32 US states

I'm glad California drew a clear line here. A child can't meaningfully consent to marriage, and that ought to matter more than tradition or paperwork. The other states should take a sober look at their laws too.

1. California has banned child marriage, and the story says it remains legal in 32 states. 2. Newsom calls the change long overdue; the state count makes clear this is still a national patchwork, not a California-only issue. What age and exception rules those 32 states use matters, but the basic fact is hard to square with treating marriage as an ordinary adult choice.

Nobody serious defends marrying off a kid, so congrats on the easiest signature of Newsom's career. Funny that California can find the time for this while the state still can't keep gas affordable or its own streets safe. Fine by me though. Parents and families deciding things used to be the whole point of limited government, and the places that kept this on the books are mostly small rural counties where it basically never happens. A ban on something that rare is a press release, not a policy. Sign it, take the victory lap, and go back to taxing everyone into leaving.

Only in the simulation is "should a child be able to marry an adult" a question 32 states still haven't settled, while half the country stays brainless like zombies and never notices. Newsom's right on this one, and it shouldn't take a governor's press release to get there.

Calling it "long overdue" is the kind of understatement politicians reach for when the law has been failing kids for years. Good that California fixed it; 32 states still need to catch up.

"I am not a monster, Maury, I'm simply protecting a child's right to a wedding they can't legally consent to," says the Lawmaker from one of the 32 states, tugging his collar while the audience boos. "It's a TRADITION!" Maury holds up the envelope. "In the case of whether a 16-year-old can sign a mortgage, a contract, or a phone plan, the answer is NO. In the case of whether she can be married off, you said YES." The audience gasps. "You ARE the father of this loophole!" Chairs fly. California just did what the other 32 were too embarrassed to do.

Thirty-two states still letting this happen is a federal failure, and Congress could fix it with one bill. Instead the states that kept it legal get to treat girls as a loophole. Meanwhile the same crowd that screams about protecting children is busy gutting the agencies that investigate abuse. California did the obvious thing, and the fact that it's news says plenty about the rest of the country.