OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Oklahoma lawmakers rejected a bill that would have stripped from parents and legal guardians of minors the legal power to consent to their marriages.

The measure by Democratic Rep. Jason Dunnington from Oklahoma City failed Monday in the Republican-controlled House on a vote of 60-35 in a state that has one of the nation’s highest rates of teen marriages.

Oklahoma law allows teenagers 16 and older to get married if a parent or legal guardian consents or through a court order. Anyone younger than 16 must obtain a court order to get married.

Dunnington’s bill would have required teens ages 16 and 17 who want to get married to seek emancipation first, which a court must approve. He told lawmakers on the House floor about the parents of a 16-year-old girl who forced her to marry an abusive man because she was pregnant, adding that she didn’t have the legal power to consent or refuse, the Oklahoman reported Tuesday.

In 2017, the Pew Research Center reported that Oklahoma ranked 4th in the nation in teen marriage rates in its analysis of 2014 marriage data. More recent data on minors getting married in Oklahoma is difficult to obtain because the figures are recorded on a county-by-county basis, Dunnington said.

"The way our child marriage laws are written right now, it doesn't give the child that's getting married much say in the decision," Dunnington said.

But GOP lawmakers pushed back, arguing that the bill would strip parents of their input.

"Overall, the great majority of parents are going to do things that are good for their children," said Republican Rep. Jim Olsen from Roland.

Olsen noted that child marriages are generally reserved for "unusual exceptions that historically have been taken care of within the family."

Delaware in 2018 became the first state in the nation to completely ban marriage for anyone under 18. Arkansas Republican Gov. Asa Hutchinson signed legislation last April that increased the state’s marriage age to 17.

Dunnington said he will try to reintroduce the legislation later this week.