Abstract
This Note argues that Florida must follow Delaware and New Jersey and ban all minor marriages, without exception. Although the right to marry is a fundamental right, the states have the power to set the age requirements to obtain a marriage license. Permitting any minor to marry, even with specific limitations, is harmful to a child. Thus, Florida must ban all marriages of any person under the age of eighteen. Florida’s current marriage statute sets the minimum age to marry at seventeen, once specific exceptions are met. The statute is an improvement from Florida’s previous marriage statute, which is now repealed, and had little to no restrictions on minor marriages. However, even with Florida’s recent repeal and replacement of the marriage licensing statute, Florida is still not acting in the best interest of children within the state by permitting seventeen-year-olds to marry. Permitting any minor to marry, even with specific limitations, is harmful to a child.
Recommended Citation
Ban Child Marriages: Florida is Not Acting in the Best Interest of the Child,
14
Fla. A&M U. L. Rev.
257
(2022).
Available at:
https://commons.law.famu.edu/famulawreview/vol14/iss2/3