Tennessee Legislature Passes Bill To Ban First Cousin Marriages?

Tennessee legislature has voted 75-2 on a bill that will ban marriage for first cousins. One of the arguments stated that first cousin marriages for gay cousins doesn’t run the risk of a child being born with birth defects. Another argument was that there should be an amendment to allow first cousin marriages as long as a couple first seeks counseling from a genetic expert? According to a Attorney General from the 1960’s, a Tennessee law from the 1820’s restricted relatives from marrying each other, but wasn’t specific to first cousins. There was no violation to the gay marriage ruling in this proposed bill.