JEFFERSON CITY — As she fought back tears and spoke softly, three state lawmakers and three advocates — all women — gathered closer to Rebecca Hurst, some gently placing a hand on her back in a show of support.
Hurst was recounting the story of how, at age 16, her mother surreptitiously planned her marriage to a 22-year-old man to “save me from my damnation.â€
“She did not feel I was on the correct spiritual path,†said Hurst.
That was more than 30 years ago in a small town in Pulaski County.
On Wednesday, Hurst stood before reporters, cameras and microphones in a side gallery off the Senate at the Missouri Capitol, advocating for state legislation that would change the legal marriage age to 18 with no exceptions.
“I’m here to advocate for those that have no one to stand up for them and no one to fight for them. Keep marriage between two consenting adults,†she told reporters.
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Three lawmakers — Sen. Holly Rehder, a Scott City Republican; Sen. Lauren Arthur, a Kansas City Democrat; and Rep. Chris Dinkins, a Lesterville Republican — have all put their names behind the measure.
In 2018, the Legislature raised the minimum marriage age in Missouri to 16 — up from either 15 with parental consent or any age with court approval. Currently, 16- or 17-year-olds can marry with a notarized signature from one parent or guardian.
But at a news conference Wednesday, lawmakers and advocates fighting against child marriage talked about problems that arise when a minor enters into a legal marriage contract.
Child marriage “creates a nightmarish legal trap,†said , founder and executive director of Unchained at Last. “You just don’t have the rights of adulthood when you’re 16 or 17. You’re not allowed to leave home to escape from parents planning an unwanted wedding for you or to escape from an abusive spouse. You are a missing child if you run away from home.â€
Reiss said minors can’t file for divorce, bring a legal action in their own name or get into a domestic violence shelter without parental consent.
And some parents marry their child to avoid child support obligations or even traffic their child to create a legal path to U.S. citizenship for noncitizens.
“It is not OK to marry minors off,†said , director of policy and women’s programs at AHA Foundation. Because minors have limited legal rights, child marriage can have devastating consequences, she said.
It put minors at risk of “unrelenting physical, emotional and sexual abuse,†Hanash said.
Rehder said the news conference was meant to bring media attention to the state’s marriage laws and encourage citizens to put pressure on their representatives to make a change.
“We need public pressure,†Rehder said. “Women’s issues have not always been first and foremost in any legislature across the nation.â€
Rehder said she married at age 15 and her sister married at 16, and that was seen as normal where she grew up.
“We were very poor. ... We didn’t understand that our long-term prosperity absolutely was going to be hindered,†she said.
The issue is also personal for Dinkins.
“My sister was married at age 15, and I also had a close friend who was married at age 15,†Dinkins said. “They both were abused.â€
“Back in the days it wasn’t really acceptable when a teen was pregnant, so they often got married,†she said. “It was just a way of life back then.â€
“Women have so much more opportunity now, so much more opportunity for education, for prosperity. We do not need to hamstring our girls,†Rehder said.
The legislation is and .