“Is there a public health issue with a male marrying a male first cousin? Obviously, I think the answer is no,” Bulso said, adding the enhanced risk for birth defects would also not be present for women who marry their first cousin. “A female and a female cannot conceive a child.”

Guy has a valid point about the justification given for the bill, not to mention that not every couple that gets married will be having biological children between them. Not just limited to gay couples, infertile people and people who choose not to have kids get married too.

I'm good with socially discouraging cousins who grew up together getting married, but legal restrictions based on flawed logic is not a good idea.

Republicans sure do seem to think you have the right to marry who ever you love when it comes to incest and pedophilia but not LGBTQ.

Good job living up to stereotypes, Tennessee.

The bill as amended by Rep. Gino Bulso, R-Brentwood, would prohibit first-cousin marriage unless the parties to the marriage contract received counseling from a genetic counselor licensed by the board of medical examiners. Bulso argued during a House floor session on Thursday the bill – as written – could violate the Obergefell v. Hodges U.S. Supreme Court decision, which made same-sex marriage legal across the country.

Bulso, while explaining his reasoning, said the bill was introduced as a public health-related matter, adding the law needed to be passed to prevent cousins from getting married and conceiving a child that could have an increased risk for birth defects. Bulso argued two men who are first cousins could get married without the risk of conceiving a child with birth defects.

This is just another bigoted conservative with an agenda. He's using this no-brainer anti-cousin-fucking law to push anti-LGBTQ rhetoric. Gino Bulso was a lawyer for just shy of 40 years before joining the Tennessee House of Reps in 2022. He knows this isn't a reasonable argument and he doesn't care. He's just trying to attack Obergefell v. Hodges. He's basically saying "See what *the gays* are making me vote against?! I don't want to allow cousin-fucking but Obergefell v. Hodges says we have to! Trust me, I'm a lawyer!"

Edit: JFC nothing brings out the weirdos as quickly as an article about a ban on cousin-fucking.

if both are consenting adults it shouldn't be illegal. maybe there's benefit to genetic counseling if there's intent or possibility to have children, but it shouldn't be illegal with or without that.

I feel like this is just an extension of the "my child, my property" mindset that republicans have. Sure, like others have argued, there might be cases of 25 year-olds genuinely falling in love with first cousins and the whole goverment-shouldn't-regulate-love thing; but the vast majority of these cases are going to be home-schooled together groomed kids who parents fear having romantic relations outside the family might introduce them to non-conservative or non-religious viewpoints which might break their narcissistic control over their kids lives.

Honestly, it's not that big a deal unless it happens for multiple generations. There is enough genetic difference between first cousins for it to not count as inbreeding.

I would recommend against it if there is a significant risk of genetic diseases being passed down, but that's true even for any two random people.

Take me to another place

Take me to another land

Let me fuck my cousin firstly

Let me understand her clam

Tennessee, Tennessee

Most of the world actually has legal marriage between first cousins. In many places it's not even taboo. And on top of that, the chances of genetic issues with it are actually pretty small. It's multiple generations of first cousins having kids where it becomes a problem.

Everybody hold up, new kink jus dropped

Gotta have that Habsburg jawline 😍

I know everyone is like "haha cousin fuckers."

But really, do we want the government to pass laws restricting who we can and cannot marry?

I can't help but notice the overlap with LGBT rights. I'm pretty sure I'd prefer them to not pass this law.

Like, from a legal and philosophical perspective, why is it OK for the government to restrict this? Why wouldn't that same argument apply to gay men getting married?

As a Texan I’m not sure if I should thank Tennessee for making us seem a little less horrible or curse them for taking attention away from our bat-shittery.

God damn east coast woke liberal infiltraitors trying to stop me from picking up women and getting some poon at the family reunion.

Alabama got the monopoly now

Topical fact of the day: Both Einstein and Darwin married their first cousins.