Bill to make marrying your first cousin illegal in Tennessee passes but not without a fight
Bill to make marrying your first cousin illegal in Tennessee passes but not without a fight
Two Republican lawmakers voted against making marriage between first cousins illegal in Tennessee.
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“Is there a public health issue with a male marrying a male first cousin? Obviously, I think the answer is no,” Bulso said, adding the enhanced risk for birth defects would also not be present for women who marry their first cousin. “A female and a female cannot conceive a child.”
Guy has a valid point about the justification given for the bill, not to mention that not every couple that gets married will be having biological children between them. Not just limited to gay couples, infertile people and people who choose not to have kids get married too.
I'm good with socially discouraging cousins who grew up together getting married, but legal restrictions based on flawed logic is not a good idea.
What about extended family members that you've never met in your entire life? Obviously procreation is still insanely gross here and we should outlaw it, but like you said not all relations between a heterosexual couple lead to children.
If your family doesn't have a history of consanguination then first cousins marrying every few generations is no big deal, genetically. You share about 5% of your genes with any random first cousin, compared to 2.5% with any random stranger. You should still seek generic counseling, you never know what secrets you might find