Although some (very few) might argue that cousins make great partners because of similar genes and backgrounds, not only will marrying your cousin likely lead to genetic disorders in future generations, but it is also illegal in some parts of the United States. Some states in America, like California, New York, and Florida, allow the marriage of first and second cousins. In other states, like Kentucky, Texas, and West Virginia, cousin marriage is banned altogether. The legislature of Tennessee has decided to join these states and has officially passed a bill to ban first-cousin marriages. A sophomore at John W. North High School, Jade Jorrin, expresses her contentment with this news as she believes “incest should be and should have always been illegal”.
Democratic representative Darren Jernigan sponsored a bill explaining that it would delete portions of the law passed in 1829 by the state’s General Assembly. They substituted the lines “nor the child of a grandparent” with “nor the lineal descendant of a grandparent”, officially prohibiting marriage between first cousins, although in 1960, the attorney general of Tennessee wrote a statement determining that the regulation from 1829 did not completely prohibit marriage between cousins.
One of two representatives to vote against the bill, Republican Representative Gino Bulso, claimed that there was no “compelling state interest” to ban same-sex cousins from getting married. He said the new bill would violate the U.S. Supreme Court’s same-sex marriage decision from 2015, known as Obergefell v. Hodges. Bulso reported that there is no public health issue for two male first cousins to marry each other because they cannot conceive a child. He also declared that his Democratic colleagues would need to be able to defend this issue if they “wish to go ahead and pass [the] bill”, according to amp.cnn.com.
The bill passed a 75-2 vote and is headed to Republican Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee’s desk for publication. The bill is scheduled to go to the House Children and Affairs Subcommittee and the Senate Judiciary Committee on the same day.
