Ohio and New Jersey Bills Target Human-AI Relationships, Not Existing Marriages

Ohio and New Jersey lawmakers are introducing bills to keep human-AI relationships outside marriage law, even though no U.S. jurisdiction currently recognizes an AI as a legal spouse. Ohio House Bill 469, sponsored by Republican Rep. Thaddeus Claggett, would declare AI systems nonsentient and prohibit them from marrying or holding legal status, while New Jersey Assembly Bill 2710, sponsored by Republican Assemblyman Paul Kanitra, would penalize providers of romantic AI simulations up to $25,000 per violation. Both measures remain in early legislative stages.

Ohio and New Jersey Bills Target Human-AI Relationships, Not Existing Marriages - Ohio Rep. Thaddeus Claggett’s HB 469 would deny AI systems marriage-related legal status and legal personhood. 1 https://www.legislature.ohio.gov/legislation/136/hb469 - New Jersey Assemblyman Paul Kanitra’s A2710 would target providers of romantic AI simulations, with civil penalties of up to $25,000 per violation. 2 https://pub.njleg.gov/Bills/2026/A3000/2710 I1.HTM - U.S. marriage law covers unions between two individuals, and no U.S. jurisdiction located in this review recognizes an AI as a spouse. 3 https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?edition=prelim&num=0&req=granuleid%3AUSC-prelim-title1-section7 Lawmakers in Ohio and New Jersey are drafting measures aimed at keeping human-AI relationships outside marriage law, even though no U.S. jurisdiction currently recognizes an artificial-intelligence system as a legal spouse. 1 https://www.legislature.ohio.gov/legislation/136/hb469 2 https://pub.njleg.gov/Bills/2026/A3000/2710 I1.HTM 3 https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?edition=prelim&num=0&req=granuleid%3AUSC-prelim-title1-section7 Two different legal approaches Ohio House Bill 469, sponsored by Republican Rep. Thaddeus Claggett, would declare AI systems nonsentient and prohibit them from being married, holding a domestic status, owning property, or bearing liability. The bill remains in committee and has not passed the Ohio House. 1 https://www.legislature.ohio.gov/legislation/136/hb469 4 https://www.legislature.ohio.gov/download?key=26176 New Jersey Assembly Bill 2710, sponsored by Republican Assemblyman Paul Kanitra, takes aim at the companies rather than the marriage license. Its proposed “Authentic Relationships Act” would prohibit providers from designing, marketing, or making available AI systems intended to imitate or encourage intimate, romantic, or sexual relationships, except for narrowly defined medical uses. It would allow civil penalties of up to $25,000 per violation and private lawsuits for resulting harm. The measure is pre-filed and pending technical review. 2 https://pub.njleg.gov/Bills/2026/A3000/2710 I1.HTM 5 https://www.njleg.state.nj.us/financial-disclosure-forms The legal rights at issue are therefore mostly hypothetical. Federal law defines marriage for federal purposes as a marriage between “2 individuals” that is valid under state law, while constitutional marriage doctrine protects the rights of human couples. 3 https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?edition=prelim&num=0&req=granuleid%3AUSC-prelim-title1-section7 6 Family-law scholar Clare Huntington has argued that AI companions raise real questions about vulnerability, privacy, emotional abuse and corporate power, but her proposed framework focuses on regulating those relationships rather than granting AI marital status. Symbolic AI wedding ceremonies reported in Japan have likewise carried no legal standing. 7 https://scholarship.law.umn.edu/minnlrev/vol110/iss1/2/ 8 https://www.euronews.com/next/2025/12/18/japanese-woman-marries-chatgpt-ai-character-in-symbolic-ceremony Further sources 1 Ohio House Bill 469 official page and legislative analysis. ↗ https://www.legislature.ohio.gov/legislation/136/hb469 2 New Jersey Assembly Bill 2710, the proposed Authentic Relationships Act. ↗ https://pub.njleg.gov/Bills/2026/A3000/2710 I1.HTM 3 1 U.S.C. § 7, federal definition of marriage for federal-law purposes. ↗ https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?edition=prelim&num=0&req=granuleid%3AUSC-prelim-title1-section7 4 Ohio Legislative Service Commission analysis of HB 469. ↗ https://www.legislature.ohio.gov/download?key=26176 5 New Jersey legislative roster identifying Paul Kanitra as a Republican assembly… ↗ https://www.njleg.state.nj.us/financial-disclosure-forms 6 Congress.gov Constitution Annotated discussion of marriage and substantive due … ↗ https://constitution.congress.gov/browse/essay/amdt14-S1-6-3-5/ALDE 00013819/ +2 more The stories that matter, in one email. Free — unsubscribe anytime.