Tennessee Republicans Fight Ban on Cousins Getting Married

A Republican Tennessee lawmaker’s attempt to keep marriage between first cousins legal has gone down in flames.

The Tennessee state House voted overwhelmingly in favor of a bill banning cousin marriage on Thursday shortly after Representative Gino Bulso, whose grandparents were married first cousins, defended the practice and offered an amendment that would have allowed it to continue if couples received genetic counseling. Only Bulso and fellow Republican Representative Monty Fritts voted against it.

Earlier this month, Bulso said during a House session that he would “with a little bit of sadness” support the first cousins marriage ban. He then recalled, unprompted, the story of his first cousin grandparents marrying each other after moving to Tennessee.

“My grandparents came over to this country through Ellis Island in Italy back in the 1920s,” Bulso said. “And they were first cousins… So, back in 1924, they actually came down to Tennessee to get married… But for the existence of the current law, I would not be here.”

The GOP lawmaker, who is opposed to same-sex marriage and recently introduced a bill to ban LGBTQ Pride flags, also argued that the cousins bill should be killed because it “demonstrably violates” Obergefell v. Hodges, the 2015 Supreme Court decision that established marriage equality.

Bulso pointed out that there was no risk of birth defects stemming from the marriage of same-sex first cousins, while arguing that the chances of opposite-sex first cousins producing offspring who suffer from birth defects was “not as significant” as many believe.

“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.”

Bulso’s speech against the ban was cut short after Democratic Representative John Ray Clemmons moved to table his amendment.

The bill was also passed in the state Senate. It was unclear whether or not Tennessee Governor Bill Lee, a Republican, intends to sign the bill into law. Newsweek reached out for comment to Lee’s office via email on Thursday.

Responses to Bulso attempting to block the bill were met with ridicule from some on social media and disbelief by a selection of his state House colleagues.

A video clip of Democratic Representative Antonio Parkinson shaking his head and making dramatic facial expressions as Bulso offered his amendment was shared by independent progressive media outlet The Tennessee Holler on X, formerly Twitter.

“All I can say is it’s ballsy,” Parkinson told the outlet following the House session. “It’s really, really ballsy to… fight for first cousins to get married in state law… I’m afraid he’s going to break the internet again.”

“Now on the House floor Rep. Bulso is arguing to allow cousins to marry,” Representative Gloria Johnson, also a Democrat, wrote on X. “(He admitted his grandparents were cousins.) I apologize for these extremists. It’s a lovely state, but these guys who fool folks into thinking they will lead with integrity- instead they are ridiculous.”

“If you don’t think it’s okay to marry your cousin, please chip in $50, $100 or whatever you can to my campaign to replace Rep. Gino Bulso,” wrote Claire Jones, a Democrat who is running to replace Bulso in November.

“Congrats to Gino Bulso for making Tennessee a national laughingstock,” @johnpaulkeith wrote.

Bulso’s office sent the following response to Newsweek’s emailed request for comment: “Representative Bulso responded to your email by saying he will not be commenting on other people’s reactions to the bill and his amendment.”