Florida lawmakers voted no on a bill to ban marriage between first cousins. The state legislature failed to pass the bill that would outlaw incestuous marriages, including marriage between first cousins.
State Rep. Dean Black, a Republican who authored the bill, said the legislature will likely vote on it again in future sessions.
The bill, filed in December, banned men and women in Florida from marrying blood relatives. A man “may not marry any woman to whom he is related by lineal consanguinity, nor his sister, nor his aunt, nor his niece,” the bill read.
The bill also stated a woman “may not marry any man to whom she is related by lineal consanguinity, nor her brother, nor her uncle, nor her nephew.”
“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,” Rep. Black told Action News Jax in Jacksonville.
He added, “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.”
But some lawmakers believed the bill was too restrictive, since some cultures allow marriage between relatives.
The legislature voted no on the bill during the March 13 session.
“I think it should come back,” Black told Action News Jax, “whether it’s a standalone bill, whether it’s tagged onto some other bill. Not really sure. We’ll have to see.”
Florida is among 17 U.S. states where first cousins are allowed to marry.
Marrying first cousins is also legal in the UK, Canada and most Muslim countries.
