Today, Virginia Dogwood reported on exclusive audio of Republican Rep. John McGuire (VA-05) defending his previous vote supporting child marriage.
This reporting comes just a week after his colleague, Jen Kiggans, was caught on audio agreeing with racist comments. Needless to say, it’s been a tough week for Virginia Republicans.
Read the full story here.
Key Points:
- [John] McGuire, who represents Virginia’s 5th congressional district, was the lone vote in the Virginia Senate against a bill to raise the legal marriage age in Virginia from 16 to 18. It passed out of the House of Delegates in a 57-40 vote.
- Prior to the law changing, Virginia allowed children 16 and older to marry if a judge approved and emancipated the minor involved.
- American Bridge 21st Century, a Democratic research group, shared audio with Dogwood from a February event in Prince Edward County where McGuire was asked about the rationale behind his vote against raising the legal marriage age.
- “We need more families,” McGuire said. “If a young man and a young girl get pregnant, they need to have a marriage.”
- Dogwood shared the audio with McGuire’s office in an email seeking comment for this story. McGuire’s communications director, Brittany Slaughter, told Dogwood in an email, “The Congressman has no comment at this time.
- Virginia was the 12th state in the US to ban child marriage, but five more states have since banned it.
Published: May 19, 2026 | Last Modified: May 20, 2026