Legislation recognizing first-cousin marriages dies in the Delaware House

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Legislation that would recognize marriages between first cousins failed in the Delaware House on Tuesday.

State representatives voted 12-23 to defeat the measure, with both Democrats and Republicans voting against. The bill has been controversial, with lots of Delawareans contacting their legislator or commenting on social media saying they opposed marriages between first cousins.

However, state Rep. Madinah Wilson-Anton’s legislation would not have legalized the performance of first-cousin marriages in the First State. The text specifically states that a marriage is banned between a person and “their ancestor, descendant, brother, sister, half-brother, half-sister, uncle, aunt, niece, nephew or first cousin.”

Wilson-Anton said she knew her bill was likely to fail on the floor, but she said she felt it was important to get everyone on the record.

“I thought it was important to bring the issue forward, to bring light to the issue,” she said. “I think my constituents deserve that, and I think Delawareans deserve transparency on that.”

The lawmaker said there was a lot of talk about the bill in the public that was inaccurate.

“It’s really difficult to get someone to understand the bill and support it when there’s a lot of misinformation about it,” she said.

Wilson-Anton said her legislation would have changed Delaware law so that marriages between first cousins that took place outside of the state would be recognized inside the state, so those residents could enjoy all the legal benefits of their union.

She said the inspiration for the legislation was a constituent who is a U.S. citizen who wanted to bring his spouse into the state from another country. However, U.S. immigration services do not consider such first-cousin marriages valid if the state they reside in doesn’t accept them.

About half of all states ban such marriages, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. The marital unions are legal in about 16 states, including Maryland, New Jersey, New York and Virginia. Tennessee banned first-cousin marriages last year.

Wilson-Anton, who is a member of the Muslim faith, said she believes cultural biases also played a role in the lack of support for the bill. First-cousin marriages are common in the Middle East and North Africa, but are also legal in Canada, parts of Europe and the United Kingdom.

Some who oppose unions between close relatives say they are concerned about genetic birth defects in their children.

Wilson-Anton said her constituent and others in his position will have to continue to live outside of Delaware in order to have their marriages recognized.

“We’re going to lose folks that wanted to settle here to other states,” she said. “I think it’s pretty silly that folks chose to vote against the bill knowing that, but each legislator has the ability to vote the way they think is best.”

This story was supported by a statehouse coverage grant from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.