Florida lawmakers have again fallen short of outlawing marriages between first cousins, after a proposal failed to advance through the state Senate. The outcome highlights a little-known reality: for roughly a third of Americans, marrying a first cousin is still permitted where they live.
The stalled effort may come as a relief to anyone in Florida whose family tree already feels a little too interconnected, but at least one legislator said the state missed an opportunity to draw a firm line.
Republican state Rep. Dean Black, who sponsored the bill, told Action News Jax: “There are plenty of people here, and there are plenty of people you can find to be your lifelong partner without looking to your first cousin.”
Nationwide, marriages between first cousins are believed to make up about 0.2 percent of all marriages. Even so, several studies have linked these relationships to a higher share of infant deaths and certain congenital conditions compared with couples who are not closely related.
A frequently cited example comes from Bradford, England. Research there found that in the city’s Pakistani community—where about 60 percent of marriages were described as “consanguineous,” meaning between first cousins—related couples experienced around double the rate of birth defects and child deaths compared with unrelated couples.
Cousin marriage has long been practiced in parts of the Middle East, and similar arrangements were also common in Western societies until comparatively recently. In the US, many states began restricting or banning the practice beginning in the mid-1800s.
These unions are sometimes based on personal choice and affection, but historically they have also been tied to practical considerations such as protecting property, consolidating wealth, and preserving inheritance lines within a family.
Despite the ethical and health concerns often raised in debates about close-kin relationships, the legal landscape across the US remains uneven. Some states prohibit such marriages outright (and may also bar other incestuous relationships), while others allow first-cousin marriage to some degree.
Notably, several large states have not banned first-cousin marriage. California, for example—home to roughly 11 percent of the US population—allows first cousins to marry.
In total, 16 states permit marriage between first cousins, although the rules vary widely and some states refuse to recognize cousin marriages performed elsewhere.
Assumptions about who seeks these relationships don’t always align with the law. Restrictions can appear inconsistent: some states ban marriage but still allow cohabitation, while others only prohibit it for people considered to be of reproductive age or impose other conditions.
States where it is fully legal to marry your cousin:
States where you can marry your cousin under certain conditions:
In some states, there are no carve-outs at all—marriage to a first cousin is simply prohibited. Many of those states also won’t recognize first-cousin marriages that were legally performed out of state.