TIME

Why it’s still legal for underage girls to marry in the U.S.

Nearly every state in the U.S. allows children to legally marry

MOST GIRL SCOUTS SPEND THEIR time learning survival skills and selling cookies. But Cassandra Levesque, 18, spent her last year in Girl Scouts drafting and then campaigning for a bill that would raise New Hampshire’s minimum marriage age from 13 to 18.

Under New Hampshire law—as in most other U.S. states—minors can marry as long as they have parental consent and a judge signs off. “Every girl dreams about what their wedding is

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