New Limits On Colorado Proxy Marriages Become Law
DENVER (AP) - Gov. John Hickenlooper has signed legislation to limit Colorado's unique rules for proxy marriages in which couples are wed with only one of the people present.
The new law will limit such marriages to military couples and government contractors. The few other states that allow proxy marriages already have such a rule.
Hickenlooper signed the legislation Wednesday.
The bill was passed after county clerks reported an increase in eyebrow-raising unions that appear to be taking advantage of Colorado's unusual proxy marriage provisions.
In one case, an Arizona woman married a Syrian man who lives in Turkey.
Legislators worried about possible threats to national security and human trafficking if the law wasn't changed, but they couldn't point to any criminal activity arising from past proxy marriages.
LINK: House Bill 1327
(© Copyright 2015 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)