Revisiting Kissing Cousins in Canada

"Miss Lonelyhearts" has printed responses to a woman attracted to her first cousin, which we covered before.

Been There, Manitoba was partly supportive, having dated a second cousin…

I found it awkward to tell people we were together, but in the end I didn't care what people thought, as we were happy.

That’s good, but then BTM hints at Discredited Argument #18.

That said, if Crazy About Him plans on having children with her cousin, everything changes. She needs to be aware that the closer the relation, the more the risk for genetic problems in any biological children. In very rural isolated communities like mine, there are many children with intellectual delays due to genetic issues directly caused by the close biological relations of the parents who are first and second cousins.

Such issues are caused by genetic problems, regardless of the relation of the parents. If they didn’t have those genetic problems, it wouldn’t matter how close they were. Anyone planning to have children together should check in to their genetics first, if they are concerned about this.

Against it, Winnipeg wrote…

I'm against first cousins dating. I believe they can love each other very much, but my grandparents were first cousins and there were problems. Of their seven children, only the males could reproduce.

That was a problem with the grandparents, not all first cousins, and do they have proof it was genetic as opposed to something environmental, dietary, or viral?

It's illegal (most places) for a reason.

Where it is illegal, it is illegal because of the sex police, and such laws should be repealed. There have been many stupid laws over the years, and throwing up our hands and saying “It is illegal for a reason” is a pathetic way to handle civil rights. An adult should be free to share love, sex, residence, and marriage with any consenting adults, and family and friends should support that, and only object if someone is abusive or basically incompatible. For example, objecting because they are first cousins is the wrong way to go. If one beats the other, or one wants to raise kids and the other doesn’t, then it makes sense to say they should stay away from each other if they are looking for a monogamous partner.