Mark Spreitzer

Thank you for signing the petition to end child marriage in Wisconsin.

A recent article in Wisconsin Watch on the issue stated that 89% of the minors who married from 2010 to 2021 married an adult, not another minor. And from 1995 to 2013, the overwhelming majority of minors who married were girls. Nationwide, the trend is for underage girls to marry adult men who are on average four years older. Furthermore, current law in Wisconsin grants these minors the ability to marry, but not to divorce.

This is not an issue that is complicated nor should it be political. In January 2020, I cosponsored legislation to end the exception allowing minors to marry with the permission of their parents. I also introduced legislation to end the practice and allow minors who married before passage to obtain a divorce during the 2023-2024, and 2025-2026 legislative sessions. None of these bills received a hearing or a vote.

Initially these bills did receive bipartisan support, unfortunately, no Republicans signed onto the two most recent versions of the bill.

By signing onto this petition, you have helped demonstrate that Wisconsinites do not want child marriage in our state, and I hope that we can finally persuade my colleagues that it is past time for it to stop.

I hope that next session I will be able to put forward this legislation for the last time, pass it into law, and end child marriage in our state.

Sincerely,

Mark Spreitzer
State Senator
15th Senate District