YIKES

Florida Bill to Ban Marriage Between First Cousins Dies

The Florida Senate fell short on a bill to join the majority of states in banning these marriages.

Florida will remain one of the few states to allow marriage between first cousins. The state senate failed to gather enough votes this month to pass a bill that would have outlawed the practice. The effort took the form of an amendment folded into a larger piece of legislation. After its defeat, the bill’s sponsor, Republican State Representative Dean Black, is hoping it will be reintroduced next session. The proposal to change the law didn’t meet any meaningful resistance at the state legislature. Instead, Black told a local TV station in Jacksonville that other elements included in the bill created a roadblock to its passage. With the current law unchanged, Florida is one of just 16 states with no restrictions on marriages between first cousins. Black explained that the current law is a holdover from an earlier time when the population density in Florida was much lower than it is today. Now, he said, “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.”