(Lansing, MI) - In Michigan, people have to be at least 18-years-old to get married now as Governor Gretchen Whitmer signed the legislation into law as of today.

 

Previously, Michigan residents ages 16 and 17 could marry with written consent from a parent or guardian.

 

Michigan has now become the eighth state to outlaw child marriages.

 

According to data obtained from the state senate, around 5,400 minors were married in Michigan over the past two decades, with over 90 percent of them being girls, some as young as 14 and 15 years old.

 

The data also revealed significant age gaps in some cases that included a 16-year-old girl marrying a 45-year-old man, as well as a 17-year-old boy tying the knot with a 68-year-old woman.

 

Supporters of raising the age limit claim marrying too early is detrimental to children and outdated.