Vermont governor signs bill raising marriage age to 18

MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) — A new Vermont law that raises the eligibility age for marriage to 18 takes effect in July. Republican Gov. Phil Scott signed the legislation on Thursday, making Vermont the eighth state in the country to end child marriage. Supporters say it will reduce domestic violence and unwanted pregnancies and improve the education and lives of teenagers. A New Jersey-based group has been lobbying to end child marriage across the country, calling it a “human rights abuse.” It says between the years 2000 and 2018, nearly 300,000 children were married in the U.S., and most of the marriages were between girls and adult men.