A new Missouri law went into effect Tuesday that prohibits anyone under the age of 16 from obtaining a marriage license in the state.
Missouri Gov. Mike Parson signed the legislation last month, which also make it illegal for anyone 21 or older to marry anyone under the age of 18, CBS reported.
Applicants who are 16 and 17 years old would still need parental consent to be eligible for a marriage license.
The new legislation comes shortly after hundreds of cases of young teenage marriage were revealed in Missouri.
Between 2012 and 2016, 900 teens aged 15, 16, and 17 were wed in Missouri, and in some cases to their abusers. In many cases, people traveled from other states to be able to marry at such a young age, and many times one party was twice the age as the person they were marrying.
Before, Missouri was one of the 25 states that had no minimum marriage age, the Kansas City Star reported, and it required children under 15 to have approval from a judge as well as parental consent.
Missouri was previously the only state that allowed 15-year-olds to get married with only one parent’s approval.
