Map Shows States Where You Can Marry Your Cousin as Tennessee Passes Ban

Tennessee may become the next state to make it illegal for a person to marry their first cousin.

The Tennessee state House overwhelmingly voted on Thursday to pass a bill that would ban such as marriage. Only two Republican legislators voted against the bill, which now goes to GOP Governor Bill Lee’s desk for him either to sign into law or to veto. The Republican has not publicly said whether he plans to sign the bill, and Newsweek reached out to his office for comment via email.

Even as Tennessee moves to ban the practice, it still remains legal in many states across the country, though it remains stigmatized and uncommon for people to marry their cousin in recent years in the U.S.

Here is an overview of where it remains legal to marry your cousin in the country.

First-cousin marriage remains completely legal in these 17 states: Alabama, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, New Mexico, North Carolina, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Vermont and Virginia.

Other states allow first cousins to get married in some specific circumstances. Maine, for instance, allows cousins to wed after they undergo genetic counseling. Other states, such as Arizona, Illinois, Indiana, Utah and Wisconsin, allow it when both individuals seeking to get married reach a certain age, typically at which they would be unlikely to have children.

The exact number of Americans who are married to their first cousins is not clear. A 2015 column from FiveThirtyEight examined the issue and found that statistics show that 0.2 percent of Americans are married to their first cousins. The website said, however, that number also includes the number of Americans married to their second cousins, and that number is based on studies from 1941 to 1981, with more-recent data not being available.

Critics of the legalization of first-cousin marriage have long pointed to studies that show children of these couples have a higher risk of developing some genetic disorders.

Some individuals, however, have opposed efforts to make it illegal for first cousins to get married. Tennessee Representative Gino Bulso voted against the bill on Thursday and made his case for why he believes the bill should not be passed in a speech.

“There’s an additional risk, but it’s not as significant as some might otherwise be led to believe,” Bulso said. “And the fact of the matter is that, unless anyone in this body can articulate a compelling interest to deny a male first cousin from marrying a male first cousin, this bill demonstrably violates Obergefell and we should vote it down.” Obergefell vs. Hodges was a 2015 landmark Supreme Court decision on same-sex couples that said “an ability, desire, or promise to procreate is not and has not been a prerequisite for a valid marriage in any State.”