SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — A bill that would make it illegal for anyone under the age of 18 to marry in South Dakota will be heard in the House State Affairs Committe e Monday morning.
The bill has bi-partisan sponsors with Democrat Rep. Kadyn Wittman as the prime sponsor. Other House sponsors include Republicans Aaron Aylward , Byron Callies , Becky Drury , Carl Perry and Taylor Rehfeldt and Democrats Eric Emery, Linda Duba , Erin Healy , Oren Lesmeister , Kameron Nelson , and Peri Pourier . The Senate’s prime sponsor is Republican Sydney Davis and other sponsors are Democrats Liz Larson and Reynold Nesiba .
Wittman said she began considering House Bill 1154 last year during discussions about “letting kids be kids.” She started exploring the state’s marriage laws.
“I was genuinely shocked to see that it is still 16,” Wittman said of allowing minors to marry. “I was even more shocked when I did a little bit of research and spoke with the Department of Health and I learned between the years 2000 and 2020 over 800 minors had been married in South Dakota. To me, that was just unacceptable.”