Uneven Freedoms to Marry

Out of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Parker Cramer brought up something recently covered here. He starts with this ridiculous statement…

Who doesn't love a baby with seven toes and a tail?

The question may seem silly, but a friend pointed out to me last week that you can legally marry your first cousin in nearly half the states in this country.

Most first cousins who have children together have healthy children.

You can legally marry your first cousin in 18 out of the 50 states with no exception, according to CousinCouples.com, a website which helps facilitate consanguineous marriages. You can marry your cousin with certain exceptions in seven other states.

So let's see if my math is correct (and it most likely is since my parents are not cousins). There are 18 states that allow cousins to marry with no exceptions, plus the seven states that allow cousins to marry with a few exceptions equals 25 total states — half of the country.

Every state should allow adult first cousins to marry.

While cousins may be able to marry each other in half the country, same-sex marriage is only legal in seven states, including Washington, D.C., according to NPR.

Every state should allow adults of the same sex to marry.

The ignorance is restated…

Nothing is sacred about marrying your first cousin and having a merry gang of offspring that strangely resemble the victims of Chernobyl.

Why hate on cousin couples? Everyone should have the right to marry. An adult should be free to share love, sex, residence, and marriage with any consenting adults. A man should be free to marry another man, even if that man is his cousin.