TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) – The Florida bill to ban marrying a first cousin failed to pass in the Florida Senate.
State lawmakers voted down HB-733, which proposed that “incestuous marriages” would not be recognized for any purpose in the state of Florida after July 1, 2026.
The bill had proposed that a man “may not marry any woman to whom he is related by lineal consanguinity, nor his sister, nor his aunt, nor his niece,” while a woman cannot marry a man “whom she is related by lineal consanguinity, nor her brother, nor her uncle, nor her nephew.”
State Representative Dean Black told Florida’s Action News Jax that he expects another vote on the same issue sometime in the future.
“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.
Florida is one of more than a dozen states where marrying your first cousin is legal, but most of the United States has banned such marriages.
The bill had proposed that a man “may not marry any woman to whom he is related by lineal consanguinity, nor his sister, nor his aunt, nor his niece,” while a woman cannot marry a man “whom she is related by lineal consanguinity, nor her brother, nor her uncle, nor her nephew.”
Incestuous gay marriages: absolutely fine 👍
I mean… genetically it’s far less likely to cause an issue.
Morally… ewww…
Situation: Abortion is banned, including in cases of rape and incest. A bill to ban marriage between direct family members was rejected by the state senate. (supposedly so mothers could marry their child’s father)
Florida says “Rape and incest is okay.”
I’ll shit on Florida as much as the next person, because…well, I’m just a hateful person on the internet I guess. That aside, the story is about Florida, but it’s not a very Florida-specific issue:
States where it is fully legal to marry your cousin: Alabama Alaska California Colorado Florida Georgia Hawaii Maryland Massachussetts New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina (except for double-first cousins) Rhode Island South Carolina Vermont Virginia Washington DC States where you can marry your cousin under certain conditions: Arizona (both over 65, or one person infertile) Illinois (both over 50, or one person infertile) Indiana (both over 65) Maine (both same sex, or had genetic counseling) Minnesota (only native peoples) Utah (both over 65, or both over 55 and one person infertile) Wisconsin (woman is over 55, or one person infertile)Damn, I thought it was gonna be the onion
Freedumb!
