Wait, Marrying Your First Cousin Is Still Legal in Tennessee?!

March 19, 2024
3:06 pm

A bill that would ban marriage between first cousins is scheduled to go before Tennessee lawmakers on Tuesday (March 19), according to Nashville-based NBC affiliate WSMV.

House Bill 2041, which proposes to change the Tennessee Code Annotate (TCA) to prohibit marriage between two people who are first cousins, was first filed for introduction in January. The lawmaker who filed the bill is Democratic House of Representatives member Darren Jernigan. One day after Jernigan introduced the bill in the House, Democratic Senator filed a similar bill in the Senate.

The Children & Family Affairs Subcommittee (in the House) and the Senate Judiciary Committee (in the Senate) both have the bill on their calendars for Tuesday.

If Tennessee passes the bill, it will become the 25th state to ban marriage between first cousins, according to data collected from the National Conference of State Legislatures by the Washington Post.

Marriage between first cousins is already illegal in states like Iowa, Ohio, Oklahoma and Pennsylvania. By contrast, the practice is legal in states such as New York, Florida, Texas and California. Some states, like Wisconsin, Illinois and Arizona, allow first-cousin marriage under certain circumstances.

Is Marriage Between First Cousins Legal in Your State?

Marriage between first cousins is legal in the following states: California; Alaska; Hawaii; Colorado; New Mexico; Texas; Tennessee; Alabama; Virginia; North Carolina; South Carolina; Georgia; Florida; New York; Vermont; Massachusetts; Rhode Island; Connecticut; New Jersey; Maryland; the District of Columbia.
Marriage between first cousins is illegal in the following states: Washington; Oregon; Nevada; Idaho; Montana; Wyoming; North Dakota; South Dakota; Nebraska; Kansas; Oklahoma; Minnesota; Iowa; Missouri; Arkansas; Louisiana; Mississippi; Michigan; Ohio; Kentucky; Pennsylvania; West Virginia; New Hampshire; and Delaware.
Marriage between first cousins is legal under some conditions in the following states: Utah; Arizona; Wisconsin; Illinois; Indiana; and Maine.

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