In the United States, most people think that cousins getting married is rude or funny.
Thirteen states do not allow intermarriage, also known as consanguineous marriage, which means “of the same blood.”
Studies that show intermarriage can increase the chance of genetic problems are a big reason why people are against this practice. Also, cultural changes have made cousin marriage less common.
Intermarriage in Illinois. What’s the law?
In Illinois, first cousins can not get married unless both of them are 50 years old or older, or unless a licensed doctor says that one of them is “permanently and irreversibly sterile.” In order to get a marriage license, this document must be turned in.
There are no rules that say second cousins or cousins from further away can not get married.
The history behind intermarriage
Researchers say that mixed-race marriage was more popular before the Industrial Revolution. Because families were bigger and people lived close to each other, it was easier to find cousins who could get married.
Better transportation, on the other hand, let people go farther, often beyond the reach of their immediate family.
Families got smaller and moved to different places. Over time, education made it easier for women to move around and make their own decisions, which made it more possible that they would meet their spouse outside of their family.
Not only did social and cultural changes make it illegal to marry in many ways, but new rules also made it less common for cousins to get married.
In the years after the Civil War, many states passed laws about marriage. These laws included statutory marriage age laws and medically-based marriage limits.
As part of these laws, cousins were not allowed to get married. In 1858, Kansas was the first state to pass such a law.