The top Republican in New Jersey's Assembly has introduced legislation to stop very early marriages in the Garden State.
Assembly Minority Leader Jon Bramnick says his bill would ban anyone under 16 from marrying or entering into a civil union. 16 and 17 year olds could marry only if a judge finds clear and convincing evidence that a denial would cause them substantial harm.
"There may be a rare exception such as a husband or wife going into the military, and that person is 18, and the spouse is 17, and there could be a benefits issue. But other than that rare exception no court should allow it."
Bramnick does not believe there should be an exception to allow pregnant teens to get married.
“You’d have to show that there would be an undue hardship for these people to wait until 18 years of age, and I can’t imagine that would meet the standard. Those people could still live together and care for each other, but they can wait a year or six months or a year-and-a-half until they’re adults.”
Governor Christie vetoed previous legislation that would have banned all marriages before age 18.
Bramnick believes his measure is a compromise and hopes it can be enacted.