Marriages between first cousins will remain legal in Florida… At least for the time being.
In Florida, it’s illegal to marry your parent, grandparent, child, aunt, uncle, niece, or nephew.
But first cousins, at least as far as the law is concerned, are fair game.
Meanwhile, at least 32 states currently prohibit or severely restrict cousin marriage.
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State Representative Dean Black (R-Yulee) argued it’s high time Florida joins that list as well.
“There was a time when I think first cousin marriages were allowed because population densities were not great, and you know it was hard to find a mate back when Florida was a wilderness,” Black said.
25 states have blanket bans on marriages between first cousins.
Nine others mostly ban the practice but have various exceptions to the rule, like in cases where one partner is infertile, both partners are above a certain age, or if the two partners are of the same sex.
Florida is among just 16 states with no restrictions on first-cousin marriages.
Others in that group include California, New York, Massachusetts, and our neighbor to the north, Georgia.
“I’ll leave things in New York and California to them. They have their own way of looking at things, but I think we need to do the right thing for Floridians here,” Black said.
This session, Black snuck an amendment onto a bill dealing with the Department of Health that would have made it illegal for first cousins to marry starting in July of this year.
It was adopted without any discussion or pushback and flew under the radar for the remainder of the session.
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That was until the final day, when Black explained disagreements over other elements in the bill created an impasse, and the legislation died as the clock on the session expired.
Despite the bill’s unceremonious demise, cousin lovers may want to make their proposals sooner rather than later, as Black expects this proposal will likely be back next year.
“There are plenty of people here, and there are plenty of people you can find to be your lifelong partner without looking to your first cousin,” Black said. ”So, yes. I think it should come back whether it’s a standalone bill, whether it’s tagged onto some other bill. Not really sure. We’ll have to see.”
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