> I don't think most people consider a 16 or 17 year old a child in the way a 5 or 8 year old is a child.

Did you read the article? There was no minimum age before this bill, so yes, they banned child marriage (by all definitions of it).

> In the state, there had been no legal age to wed, allowing children to get married as long as their parents consent and a judge signs off on the nuptials.