Sherry Johnson

Sherry Yvonne Johnson (born Beginning at age 9, Johnson was repeatedly raped by the deacon and bishop of her church. Johnson was also raped by her mother's husband. She is opposed to child marriage on the basis that children cannot enter into other legal contracts. Johnson stated, "You can't get a job, you can't get a car, you can't get a license, you can't sign a lease, so why allow someone to marry when they're still so young?" Speaking on how she was forced to marry the man who raped her, Johnson said, "No one actually protected me. They protected him by putting the handcuffs on me, instead of putting the handcuffs on him, and he was the rapist." Johnson initially faced opposition or disbelief from lawmakers, with some lawmakers incorrectly asserting to her that child marriage such as hers was not legal in Florida, or that her case was anomalous. This amended legislation again passed unanimously in the Senate; in the House, support was near-unanimous, with George Moraitis the lone dissenter. Moraitis stated, "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." On March 23, 2018, this legislation (Senate Bill 140) was signed by Governor Rick Scott.

Despite the lack of an outright ban on child marriage in Florida, Johnson stated that she was pleased with the bill, saying, "I can deal with the line of [age] 17 with all of the requirements." While she was happy with the legislative victory in Florida, Johnson indicated that her activism against child marriage was not over. She stated, "My mission is for the world, for the children all over the world," she said. "It's not just Florida . . . It's for the children everywhere."