Oregon can become the next state to end child marriage!
An important bill will be heard on Tuesday, May 6th, and FFRF Action Fund needs your help to ensure it has the best chance to become law. Senate Bill 548 fights child abuse by putting a stop to child marriage. Please contact members of the House Judiciary Committee today, and take a stand for children in Oregon!
SB 548 would raise the minimum marriage age in Oregon to 18 with no exceptions. Oregon law currently allows children under 18 years old to get married with parental consent. In an ironic and unjust twist, minors may be forced to marry, but may not be “old enough” to file for divorce, clearly showing why a teenager who is not old enough to end a marriage should also not be old enough to get married in the first place. Child marriage has become a default “solution” for religious abusers who target their victims while they’re young, and get married to their victims to evade criminal prosecutions. This thinking comes straight out of the bible, which treats girls and women as property, going from the property of their fathers to the property of their husbands. With your help, Oregon could become the next state to outlaw child marriage!
The committee will be hearing this bill on Tuesday, May 6, so please take the chance to speak up now! We have included talking points through the “Take Action” button, which you can edit to your liking by clicking the pencil icon. For best results, please be succinct and polite. For extra impact, you will be directed to a phone script to call your legislator after you email them. Please take the extra minute to call them if you can!
(Note: You must live in Oregon in order to take part in this action alert.)