In America, there are more states in which you can marry your first cousin than states in which you can marry the love of your life — if that first cousin is of the opposite sex but that love of your life is of the same sex. Same-sex marriage is illegal — not just not possible, but specifically outlawed, sometimes via a constitutional amendment, in 31 states, and legal only in six states, Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, New York, along with the District of Columbia.
But marriage between first cousins — despite the aspects of incest and potential for genetic risk — is legally condoned far more than same-sex marriage.
In December of 2009 The New Civil Rights Movement published this graphic, “States That Allow Same-Sex Marriage Vs. States That Allow Marriage Between First Cousins.” It quickly became one of our top posts of all time.
Last year, Mediaite published the graphic below, which compares states that allow same-sex marriage to states you can marry your cousin in, as well as the minimum age required to get married, by state, and states with constitutional bans on marriage.
Several bloggers posted the above infographic today. Being a New York resident, I’d like to remind everyone that these maps are a year old, and therefore have several inaccuracies, including that they do not include New York as offering same-sex marriage equality. It does, and next year my fiancé and I will be taking advantage of that fact.
Below is a more up-to-date infographic of states in the U.S. that allow same-sex marriage, followed by states in the U.S. that allow cousin marriage.
States in the U.S. that allow same-sex marriage:
States in the U.S. that allow marriage between first cousins:
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