The Washington State House of Representatives wasted no time today getting down to business and taking action on one of the Northwest Progressive Institute’s 2024 legislative priorities, voting unanimously on opening day to pass legislation that would put an end to child marriage in the Evergreen State.
All ninety-eight Democratic and Republican representatives cast votes this afternoon in favor of State Representative Monica Stonier’s legislation to set a minimum age of eighteen for both parties to legally marry.
Stonier had pitched her colleagues on making House Bill 1455 a priority for early action, and they responded enthusiastically. As a consequence, the bill is now headed to the Senate, where Law & Justice Chair Manka Dhingra, a Northwest Progressive Foundation boardmember, is prepared to hear it.
Remarkably, State Representative Jim Walsh, now the Chair of the Washington State Republican Party, joined Stonier in delivering a floor speech urging that the bill receive the support of every member of the House of Representatives.
No members were absent or excused, so we can say that every single one of Washington State’s representatives is on the record in support of HB 1455. That’s just fantastic. And it reflects the tremendous support our research has found for ending child marriage — 80% of likely 2024 Washington voters support this bill.
Here’s the unanimous roll call on HB 1455:
Roll Call
HB 1455
Child marriage
3rd Reading & Final Passage
1/8/2024Yeas: 98
Voting Yea: Representatives Abbarno, Alvarado, Barkis, Barnard, Bateman, Berg, Bergquist, Berry, Bronoske, Caldier, Callan, Chambers, Chandler, Chapman, Cheney, Chopp, Christian, Connors, Corry, Cortes, Couture, Davis, Dent, Doglio, Donaghy, Duerr, Dye, Entenman, Eslick, Farivar, Fey, Fitzgibbon, Fosse, Goehner, Goodman, Graham, Gregerson, Griffey, Hackney, Harris, Hutchins, Jacobsen, Klicker, Kloba, Kretz, Leavitt, Lekanoff, Low, Macri, Maycumber, McClintock, McEntire, Mena, Morgan, Mosbrucker, Nance, Orcutt, Ormsby, Ortiz-Self, Orwall, Paul, Peterson, Pollet, Ramel, Ramos, Reed, Reeves, Riccelli, Robertson, Rude, Rule, Ryu, Sandlin, Santos, Schmick, Schmidt, Senn, Shavers, Simmons, Slatter, Springer, Stearns, Steele, Stokesbary, Stonier, Street, Taylor, Thai, Tharinger, Timmons, Volz, Walen, Walsh, Waters, Wilcox, Wylie, Ybarra, Jinkins
Now that HB 1455 has been sent back across the rotunda, the next step is a hearing in Senate Law & Justice. The bill then needs a “do pass” recommendation to be sent up to Senate Rules. From there it will need to be pulled to the floor and be selected for bill action by Senate leadership. Given how much bipartisan support the bill has, this ought to be simple — but it’s important to remember that HB 1455 stalled out last year due to time constraints, a reminder that even noncontroversial bills can get stymied in the bicameral legislative process.
We’re working with the Washington Coalition to End Child Marriage to ensure that doesn’t happen again. 2024 is the year to get this done! If you’re interested in supporting the cause, we invite you to join us on January 18th in Olympia, when our friends at Unchained At Last will be holding what they call a chain-in — a demonstration to call for an end to child marriage — on the steps of the domed Legislative Building on the Capitol Campus. Unchained At Last has held many chain-ins in other states, and this month, it’s Washington’s turn!
If you would like to participate in the chain-in, please register here.
Details from Unchained At Last:
Child marriage is an urgent problem in Washington. Dangerous legal loopholes allow parents to enter a child of any age into marriage without any input required from the child, and without any real legal recourse for a child who does not want to marry.
Some 5,048 minors as young as 13 were entered into marriage in Washington between 2000 and 2021. More than 80% were girls wed to adult men, and between 38 and 51 marriages occurred with a spousal age difference that met the definition of a sex crime.
Furthermore, child marriage creates a nightmarish legal trap that destroys nearly every aspect of an American girl’s life. There’s a reason the United State Department has called marriage before eighteen a “human rights abuse.”
This calls for a protest.
We will Chain-In in Olympia on January 18th. We will wear bridal gowns and chains to urge legislators to pass SB 5695 / HB 1455, the simple bill that would end child marriage in Washington.
Speakers include:
- Representative Monica Stonier, legislative champion
- Senator Manka Dhingra, legislative champion
- Senator Derek Stanford, legislative champion
- Stephanie Warren, survivor & advocate
- Sara Tasneem, child marriage advocate and survivor
- Kate Yang, child marriage advocate and survivor
- Katherine Cleland, Zonta USA
- Michele Hanash, AHA Foundation
- Fraidy Reiss, Unchained At Last
We also will sing and chant against forced and child marriage, including a rendition of The Girls You Have Destroyed, a chilling poem/song we wrote about child marriage in the United States.
Chain-In Olympia
January 18 | 11:30 a.m.
North Steps of the Washington State Capitol
416 Sid Snyder Ave. SW, Olympia, WA 98504
Again, the link to register is here if you’d like to join us.
Big thanks to Representative Stonier for securing floor time for this important bill on the first day of the legislative session, and earning the votes of every single one of her ninety-seven colleagues! It’s on to the Senate.
