Laguna Beach adopts resolution supporting statewide child marriage ban

Laguna Beach has thrown its support behind an effort seeking to end child marriage in the state of California.

The Laguna Beach City Council adopted a resolution to that effect on Tuesday, joining eight other Orange County cities — including Costa Mesa, Irvine and Newport Beach — that have made a commitment to urge the state Legislature to pass legislation that would bring an end to the practice.

Mayor Bob Whalen brought the resolution to the council after being approached by Rima Nashashibi, the founder and president of Global Hope 365, an organization that aims to halt harmful practices against women and girls.

Nashashibi said the group hopes to bring awareness to and educate the public on issues such as child marriage and human trafficking.

During the public communications, Sara Tasneem, who identified herself as a survivor of child marriage, said that those subjected to the practice are forced to give up rights such as bodily autonomy and reproductive rights.

“I think it’s worth taking a stand on this,” Whalen said just before calling for a motion to adopt the resolution, which the council did by a 4-1 vote.

The resolution notes the American Medical Assn. has said the following in support of a ban on child marriage: “Child marriage is associated with higher rates of sexually transmitted infections, early pregnancies, divorce and intimate partner violence than women married at age 21.”

The dissenting vote was cast by Councilwoman Toni Iseman, who looked back on her time as an educator and found the thought of a child marriage ban without exception to be an overreach.

Iseman acknowledged that there are cautionary tales associated with child marriage, but she said she felt there should be exceptions.

“If you go back on your family tree, I think you’re going to find some 17-year-olds who got married and lived happily ever after,” Iseman said. “I find it very intrusive. I would say 16 would be a number, but we’re not given that choice. This is a big solution for a narrow problem.”

In response to Iseman’s concerns about there being no exceptions, Nashashibi said, “Most of these marriages under the age of 18 are due to parental consent, and sometimes they hide the crime of statutory rape.”

Iseman questioned what might happen in the event a girl under the age of 18 becomes pregnant.

“With my professional experience working, what happens if somebody wants to get married — if an 18-year-old boy and a 17-year-old girl want to get married and she’s pregnant?” Iseman asked. “Do we really want to insert our government in this? I’m curious as to why this wasn’t narrowed.”

Councilman George Weiss said that he could see the point being made by his colleague on the dais, but he ultimately said a 17-year-old could wait another year to take on marriage.

“I understand we’ve had maybe friends or people from high school that got married at 17 years old, and they had a 50-year marriage,” Weiss said. “It worked out really well. But you can’t vote until you’re 18, so we consider that in the United States as an age of maturity.”

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