Keeping it in the family? Not anymore. Tennessee passes bill banning marriage between first cousins
Marriage
Tennessee lawmakers on Thursday (Apr 11) passed a proposal seeking to ban marriage between first cousins.
The Republican-led legislature overwhelmingly voted in support of the ban. The bill will now be sent to Republican governor Bill Lee.
Overwhelming support
As per the Associated Press, the proposal against consanguineous marriage was approved by the statehouse with 75 votes, with only two against it. Previously, the Senate had passed it without any opposition.
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Is marrying a first cousin currently legal in Tennessee?
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According to State Affairs, the US state passed a law restrictingcertain unions more than half a century ago.However, in 1960, an attorney generalopined that the ban was unenforceable when it came to marriages between first cousins.
The current law prohibits some "degrees of relationships." It reads: "Marriage cannot be contracted with a lineal ancestor or descendant, nor the lineal ancestor or descendant of either parent, nor the child of a grandparent, nor the lineal descendants of husband or wife, as the case may be, nor the husband or wife of a parent or lineal descendant."
The bill proposed by Democratic representative Darren Jernigan seeks to replace the line "nor the child of a grandparent" with "nor the lineal descendant of a grandparent."
As the bill crossed the statehouse, Jernigan said: "I hope it's safe to say that in 2024, we can close this loophole."
The lawmakers who don't want a ban on marriage between first cousins
The bill, which will be sent to Governor Lee, was passed 75–2 votes. Of the two who voted against it, the most vocal opponent was Republican representative Gino Bulso.
Bulso argued that such marriages should be allowed if the couple first seeks counselling from a genetic counsellor.
He also argued that the risk of birth defects in children of first cousins does not exist for gay couples, and contended that there was no compelling reason for a ban on same-sex cousins from marrying.
"The question is: is there a public health issue with a male marrying a male first cousin?" asked Bulso.
"And I think the answer is no," he concluded. The other opponent of the bill was Monty Fritts, a Republican representative.
(With inputs from agencies)
