Missouri House advances controversial bills targeting transgender minors.

Missouri State Senator Mike Moon has reiterated his support for child marriage, suggesting that children as young as 12 should have the right to marry with parental permission. Moon's comments came during a debate on a bill banning gender-affirming care for transgender minors. In 2018, Missouri passed a law raising the marriage age in the state from 15 to 16 and requiring parental permission for older teenagers to marry. Moon opposed the bill at the time, citing an anecdote of a couple he met in college who had married one another at age 12.