Governor Roy Cooper signed Senate Bill 35 into law Thursday, raising the lawful minimum age of marriage in North Carolina from 14 to 16, according to a press release. This law mandates a maximum four-year age difference for 16 and 17 year olds to marry as well as formal legal permission. Governor Cooper said in the press release that this legislation is an important step toward ending child marriage in the state, but that it falls short of raising the age of marriage to 18.