About 47 years ago, an 11-year-old Sherry Johnson was forced to marry the church deacon who raped her at age 9. She had a baby at 10 years-old and the church pressured her mother to consent to the marriage, which a judge approved. Johnson later gave birth to five more children with the deacon, and was not able to attend school. Years later, she escaped the marriage.

Now, a Florida state law will be make sure that same situation won't6 happen again: lawmakers have passed a bill that prohibits marriage for anyone under 17-years-old, USA Today reports.

The inspiration for that bill? Johnson herself.

“My heart is happy,” said Johnson after witnessing the 109-1 House vote. “My goal was to protect our children, and I feel like my mission has been accomplished. This is not about me. I survived.”

The one person who voted against the bill, Republican Representative George Moraitis, was fine with the old law which states that 16 and 17-year-olds can marry with their parent's consent. The old law also did not mandate a minimum age for marriage if the minor becames pregnant and a judge granted approval.

"There’s literally only a handful of cases that would fall under what I would say are potentially abusive,” said Moraitis. “To focus on a 10-year-old or an 11-year-old or something like that when we’re talking about the hundreds and hundreds of people that could get married. I’m particularly focused on the pregnancy aspect of it. I don’t want the message to be that it’s better to not get married.”

Governor Rick Scott's office has confirmed he will sign the bill over Moraitis' objections.

Johnson spoke on what her life could've been had the law been in existence when she was a child. “It would have changed my life by not allowing me to get married, to continue to have children, to continue to have my downfall,” she said. “I would have been a single mother, and I think would have done well.”

We salute you, Sherry Johnson for your bravery and tenacity!

Sherry Johnson

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