NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — Yes, it’s currently legal for two first cousins to marry in Tennessee. But soon, that will likely change.
“First cousins in the state of Tennessee, you can’t marry first cousins,” House Majority Leader William Lamberth (R-Portland) said. “We’re not going to allow that in this day and age.”
Thursday, the General Assembly passed a bill banning marriage between ‘lineal descendants of a grandparent.’ Currently, the law only outlaws marriage between just the ‘children of a grandparent.’
The bill passed unanimously in the Senate and drew support from most Republicans in the House. But not all of them, as a few voted ‘Present,’ and two voted ‘No.’
“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,” Rep. Gino Bulso (R-Brentwood) said during session. “So, there’s an additional risk, but it’s not as significant as some might otherwise be led to believe.”
Bulso filed an amendment to protect cousin marriage, if couples see a genetic counselor. The rest of the body didn’t bite.
“Obviously, the way he did it, we didn’t agree with,” Lamberth said. “So, his amendment failed and should have.”
Bulso argued a ban on first-cousin marriages would violate the Supreme Court case Obergefell v Hodges – which legalized gay marriage.
“Obergefell was a grievously wrong decision. Is there a public health issue with a male marrying a male first cousin?” he said. “Obviously, I think the answer was no.”
Democrats were shocked as the Republican argued in favor of his amendment.
“I think he was misinterpreting the Obergefell decision to try to keep first cousin marriage legal in the state of Tennessee, which is an…interesting position to take,” House Democratic Caucus Chair John Ray Clemmons (D-Nashville) said.
It’s a bit of an about-face from Bulso, who last week said he planned to support the bill despite the history of his grandparents.
“They were first cousins, but they couldn’t get married in Ohio,” he said in a Civil Justice Committee hearing. “So, back in 1924, they actually came down to Tennessee to get married.”
House Republican leadership says Bulso was just trying to show the irony between the bill and the Obergefell ruling, since the bill would also outlaw LGBTQ+ marriages between first cousins.
“The hypocrisy is kind of ironic,” Lamberth said. “To have a Democrat filing a bill saying they’re limiting who can get married when they’ve been pretty clear they’re fine with certain liberals with polygamy and with whomever marrying whomever.”
