Florida Bid to Ban First Cousin Marriages Stalls in Legislature

Florida lawmakers have hit pause—not stop—on a move to outlaw marriage between first cousins, Action News Jax reports. Republican state Rep. Dean Black quietly attached an amendment to a Department of Health bill this session that would have barred first cousins from marrying starting in July. The change sailed through without debate and drew little notice until the final day of the legislative session, when disagreements over other parts of the bill killed it as the clock ran out.

Florida is one of 16 states that place no limits on first-cousin marriage, while at least 32 states ban or heavily restrict it. Black says Florida should join that majority, arguing that "there are plenty of people" to marry who aren't your first cousin. He expects the proposal, which WFTV reports would have kept all forms of "incestuous marriages" from being recognized in the state, to return next year, either as a standalone bill or tacked onto another measure. Gulf Coast News Now reports that while West Virginia is often the target of jokes regarding cousin marriage, it actually banned such marriages in 1955. Only about 250,000 marriages in the US are estimated to be cousin marriages; historical figures who married their cousins include Albert Einstein and President Franklin Roosevelt.