Republican Congressman Seeks to Prohibit Cousin Marriage Nationwide

Marriage between first cousins isn’t an approved practice in mainstream Christianity but is common among Muslims and Jews to a great degree. Conservatives in America, majority of them Christians, have a general disapproval for marriage between cousins, particularly first cousins. While more than 30 states don’t legally recognize first-cousin marriage, a new piece of proposed legislation seeks to federally prohibit it across the nation.

On April 30, Republican Congressman Keith Self of Texas made news for introducing legislation that seeks to end federal benefits recognition for marriages between first cousins or closer relatives. According to a press release on Congressman Self’s official website, the legislation called the “Consanguineous Marriage Prohibition Act of 2026”:

Affects marriage as a “qualifying life event” as well as affects benefit calculations with benefits in Social Security, SSI, Medicare, Medicaid, SNAP and TANF programs. There are additional impacts on federal employees’ life and health insurance.

The release stated that it would not alter the broader legal definition of marriage.

Speaking from a scientific viewpoint and citing CDC data on birth defects and infant mortality, Congressman Self called the practice of first cousin marriage un-American:

“Cousin marriage—which is permitted under Sharia—is fundamentally incompatible with American culture and values.”

Reporting on the legislation, The Daily Signal (April 30) included the picture of Muslim Somali immigrant Ilhan Omar, a Democrat Congresswoman, with her former husband who allegedly was her cousin. Though Omar came to America as a minor refugee with her parents and her immigration record reportedly has gone missing, Muslim immigrants do marry their first cousins and move them to America without any difficulty. Seemingly, if you marry outside the country, you can bring and live with your first cousin as your spouse anywhere in America.

Chain migration from the Islamic world has already filled the United Kingdom with countless first cousin couples and some reports say that one-third of all birth defects in Britain today are among Pakistani immigrant families.

In the United States, several red states including the deep red Florida continue to allow first-cousin marriages. Recently an effort to pass legislation banning marriage among first cousins in the state of Florida failed, though reportedly not because of this particular issue. This likely brought relief to Muslims living in the state, who otherwise would have to move elsewhere this year since the proposed legislation was meant to take effect in July.

For liberals, the issue of first-cousin marriage means contrary positions at the same time as they claim to believe in science while also committed to their chain migration policy for Muslims. It is therefore no surprise to see several blue states recognizing first-cousin marriage such as CA, CO, MA, NY, NJ, MD, NM, VT, and RI.