A bill banning marriage between first cousins passed the Tennessee Legislature Thursday and heads to the desk of Gov. Bill Lee, a Republican.
If he signs it into law, the ban will take effect immediately.
The bill aims to close a loophole dating back six decades. In 1960, the Tennessee attorney general wrote an opinion on an 1829 law that had wording allowing first cousins to marry.
The new law substitutes “nor the child of a grandparent” with “nor the lineal descendant of a grandparent.”
The bill passed with 75 voting yes, nine being present but not voting, and two voting no. One of those people, Rep. Gino Bulso, a Republican, proposed an amendment to the bill, which would have let first cousins marry if they saw a genetic counselor.
“There is an increased risk of birth defects when you’ve got first cousins marrying. It is in the range of 1.7% to 2.8%, according to the Journal of Genetic Counseling. So, there’s an additional risk, but it’s not as significant as some might otherwise be led to believe,” Mr. Bulso said during the legislative session.
He also argued that the U.S. Supreme Court precedent in Obergefell v. Hodges, which legalized gay marriage, allows for cousin marriage.
“Is there a public health issue with a male marrying a male first cousin? Obviously, I think the answer was no,” Mr. Bulso said.
Rep. Darren Jernigan, a Democrat and the bill’s sponsor, said, “Public health is not listed in my bill at all — it’s just you can’t marry your cousins.”
House Majority Leader William Lamberth, a Republican, agreed, saying, “First cousins in the state of Tennessee, you can’t marry first cousins. We’re not going to allow that in this day and age.”