WSCS 5 reported on North Carolina lawmakers’ proposed companion bills that would raise the state’s minimum marriage age from 14 to 18 in an effort to stop child marriages. Casey Swegman, Tahirih Forced Marriage Initiative Manager, is quoted speaking about the importance of passing bill HB41/SB35:
“This bill would take North Carolina from behind the national curve to a leadership position in the movement to end child marriage…If we do not pass this law now, North Carolina will increasingly become a regional destination for child marriage.”