Washington (CNN) North Carolina is one step away from raising the minimum age at which children in the state can wed from 14 to 16 after lawmakers there approved a measure that would change several key rules around child marriages in the state. Senate Bill 35 was unanimously passed by the state's Senate on Tuesday after it cleared the state's House last week, where it also received unanimous support. Roy Cooper, who is poised to sign it into law. "While the legislation falls short of raising the age of marriage to 18, the governor supports this step toward ending child marriage in North Carolina and more protections for children," Mary Scott Winstead, a spokeswoman for the governor, said in a statement to CNN on Wednesday. But under SB35, the minimum age at which a minor could wed would be 16, with children that age or 17 needing either permission from parents or guardians or approval from judges to tie the knot.

Source: CNN August 19, 2021 00:45 UTC