First cousin marriages and Prop 8

Before the election, I remember reading about a legal scholar who was up in arms about Prop 8 and gave the "first cousin marriage" issue as one of concern in regard to Prop 8. No, it's not about how Prop 8 could lead to incest between first cousins being legalized. /scowl This is about how first cousin marriages are already legal in California, and how Prop 8 could lead to a measure with similar verbiage like "Only a marriage between and man and a woman, who are unrelated and do not share a grandparent, is valid or recognized" that could affect those marriages. I recently came across this blog post that articulates quite eloquently the ugly legal precedent that Prop 8 could set if allowed to stand. With recent developments in the Prop 8 fight concerning how the new constitutional amendment should be interpreted "literally", this issue is all the more relevant.

It seems that a lot of people don't know this, but in about half the states in the U.S., first cousin marriages are restricted. California is one of the states that allows first cousin marriages. We are apparently the only country in the western world that has any restrictions on first cousin marriages. It is legal in all of Europe, Canada, and Mexico. In some cultures outside of western culture, cousin marriages are preferable. "Kissing cousins" are not all that uncommon throughout history. Queen Victoria and Darwin married their first cousins. Recent studies have shown that the increased chance of genetic defects in the children of cousins much less significant than previously thought. Many editorials about first cousin marriage are pretty consistent and supportive, as they were for Prop 8. However, I see a lot of first cousin marriage bashing in the discussion boards whenever someone brings up the "slippery slope" argument to "incest" when it comes to cousins marrying. A lot of this is from the Yes on Prop 8 folks saying "gay marriage will lead to cousins marrying!" with No on Prop 8 folks replying "No, this won't lead to cousins marrying!" NEWS FLASH: First cousins are already allowed to marry in California, and being a melting pot of diversity, there are thousands of married first cousins living here. If an interest group were to get an initiative on the ballot in California that redefined marriage to be of unrelated persons who do not share a grandparent, I would venture to guess that it would pass for sure, and more out of ignorance than malice (as it has in other states). Not surprisingly, the first cousin marriage "ick" factor has Christian roots, since Leviticus says that persons who are closely related cannot marry.

If the proponents for banning first cousin marriage tried to apply the same logic that they are using for Prop 8 and succeeded, then thousands of first cousin marriages would no longer be recognized. The children of those marriages are affected, as well as every legal document that depends on those marriages. The far-reaching legal ramifications for those families are scary to think about. By the same logic that the Prop 8 proponents are defending, those marriages can no longer be recognized in California, but they would still be valid in states that recognize first cousin marriage. Again, this just wreaks of "we don't want you here" to me.

As an aside, this is a good lesson to think about as a No on Prop 8 supporter (and Yes on Prop 8 supporter if you are reading this). Before knowing all the things we know now about first cousin marriage, would you have voted to ban marriage between cousins? I am assuming that many people will say yes. If yes, would you still vote yes, knowing that first cousin marriages are legal in many other countries, that thousands of same-grandparent couples exist in California, that experts feel that banning cousins from marrying is not necessary, and that this will have serious legal consequences on their lives? Even if this is not something that you would tolerate personally, would you still vote to ban it for other families, invalidating their marriages and interfering with their personal lives? If the answer is no to both of these questions, then I'm assuming that you voted no on Prop 8. /grin