KETCHIKAN — An Alaska lawmaker is seeking to change the state law that allows a person as young as 14 to marry.
The Ketchikan Daily News reports state Sen. Berta Gardner is planning to introduce legislation to up the legal age of marriage to 18 in Alaska.
The Democratic senator’s legislation would also allow emancipated minors above the age of 16 to marry.
Under current state law, a person between the age of 14 and 18 can marry with permission from a superior court judge. According to the state law, the judge may grant permission if the “marriage is in the best interest of the minor.”
According to an Alaska Vital Statistics report, four marriage licenses were issued to 14-year-old children between 2006 and 2015.
