JCC How do you feel about consanguineous marriage? (ANONYMOUS poll)

So, seeing as the temp boards are gone, I thought I'd revive my consangineous (blood-relative) marriage thread and see what opinions are.

I've decided to leave out whether or not people support it morally or personally and just leave it at legality, because it would just increase the number of options unmanageably. I know some states allow first cousin marriage only if the couple can prove they are infertile (too old, sterilized, naturally infertile, or something else).

Step-siblings is also another confusing thing, but it would just add up to too many options. So I figure just say yes or not, and if other, you can comment but don't vote. Sorry - this issue just seems too complex to get all the poll options and variants.

By the way, this is a serious thread.

No, it just means that while I am parodying the other thread kinda, I'm not just trolling. I seriously want to see opinions.

I think first-cousin marriage has been legal in a dozen or so states for a while, and with no conditions (no infertility requirement)


And sure, the law should be fair and equal. We don't stop some individuals from marrying or reproducing just because they might, or even certainly will, pass on some genetic defect.

Personally think it's disgusting at even 2nd cousins, but the law should be fair.

Marriage is just a legal contract, so I'm fine with it as long as both parties are old enough to enter the legal contract.

I don't support it (in the sense that I will not be an advocate for its legality, but nor will I vote against it), but if my state pushes to make consanguineous unions legal, I won't get in the way. I'd probably end up not voting on that polling question. Won't impact me unless I'm forced to marry a relative as a result.

Second cousins, but nothing closer.

So long as everyone involved is of age of consent (though is some states, "Age of Consent" is surprisingly low.)
It might be 'creepy' or 'weird', and there are genetics factors to consider.
On the other hand, I have a friend with one of those step-child situations. (grandparents had children when they married, so while their children weren't related by blood...)

I still want to marry a llama, but only if it's a 2nd cousin or more distant.

The law should never prevent a competent adult from entering into a contract of their own choosing unless it negatively impacts others. A consanguineous marriage contract, in and of itself, harms no other citizen and therefore shouldn't be denied by any government.

Now, whether it would be ethical for people in such a union to produce a child is another matter... but the laws of governments and the universal moral law are often decidedly non-overlapping.

What about two people who carry the recessive gene for Tay-Sachs disease?

I don't see what their genetics has to do with a contract for marriage.

There are no good biological or social reasons to deny first cousins the right to marry, but closer than that-- and vertical-- is extremely problematic. Sibling or vertical relationships are almost always the product of abuse or other problems-- the extremely rare cases of biological siblings just happening to find each other without knowing their genetic relation not being enough of an exception.

My father (and therefore, I) wouldn't exist if it weren't for first cousin marriage, so I've never really gotten the taboo around it.

[insert "that explains a lot" jokes here]

The problem with first cousins marrying is that I can't picture the thought of marrying my first cousins and they couldn't me.

It's just gross.

But seriously, I picked second cousin, but there are examples of firsts marrying that dont seem to have problems.

But certainly not siblings and parent/children. That should be the line.

It's just gross? That's your reasoning? Let's pretend that I think that redheads are gross. Who would want to marry a redhead! Redhead marriage shouldn't be allowed!

YOU think it's gross. I think it's gross too.

Doesn't mean it shouldn't be legal. Picking your nose and eating it is legal. As is picking someone else's nose and eating it (provided they're consenting).

No, I wasn't serious.

Then why did you vote second cousin?

Because I couldn't quite bring myself to click first cousin.

That's it.

the targaryens married brother to sister for centuries.

Fair enough. I feel similarly.

Luckily I was able to click that I don't support legal marriage.

I chose "support first cousin marriage" because I've known a few couples that are first cousins and their offspring seem to be alright
I still find it icky, and I wouldn't marry a first cousin, but I'm not going to stop anyone from doing it.

Note: I thought about voting second cousin, too.

I do support legalization. I realize that the alternative is too much. I think on another day I would click first cousin.