ALBANY (WENY) – Governor Cuomo has signed legislation raising the age of consent for marriages to 18.
The new legislation Nalia’s Law, builds upon a 2017 child marriage ban which removed the ability for 17-year-olds to be married with parental and judicial consent.
The law is named after Nalia Amin who is a survivor of forced child marriage.
“This administration fought hard to successfully end child marriage in New York and I’m proud to sign this legislation to strengthen our laws and further protect vulnerable children from exploitation,” Governor Cuomo said. “Children should be allowed to live their childhood and I thank the many legislators and advocates who worked diligently to advance this measure and further prevent forced marriages in this state.”
The bill will take effect 30 days after becoming law and will apply to licenses issued after August 22nd and marriages that had not yet had ceremonies prior to that date.
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