Marrying Your Cousin in Illinois: Is It Legal? Marriage between cousins is considered taboo or a punchline in much of the United States.
Intermarriage, or consanguineous marriage, literally meaning “of the same blood,” is outlawed in 31 states.
In a way, it’s largely because of studies that find intermarriage can increase the risk of genetic problems and because of cultural shifts that led to cousin marriage no longer being status quo.
Intermarriage in Illinois. What’s the law?
In Illinois, first cousins cannot legally marry unless both parties are 50 or older, or a licensed physician certifies that either one of the parties is “permanently and irreversibly sterile.” This certification must be filed when applying for a marriage license.
There are no laws prohibiting marriage between second cousins or cousins of more distant relations.
The History behind intermarriage
According to researchers, before the Industrial Revolution intermarriage was more common.
Thus, as families were larger, and they stayed put, it means the number of marriageable cousins was greater and easily accessible to each other.
Improved transportation meant people could now travel farther than family networks. Families got smaller in size and geographically spread.
In addition, the increased female mobility and autonomy owing to education increased the chances that they would secure a spouse outside the family network.
In addition to social and cultural changes, the prohibition of many types of marriages through new legislation, leading to the taboo of marrying cousins, resulted in the decline of cousin-marriage.
In the aftermath of the American Civil War, many states passed marriage-related legislation, such as statutes concerning statutory marriage age, and marrying for medical reasons.
Some of the states passed interdicts where cousin marriages were concerned and Kansas is on record as the very first state to pass this legislation back in 1858.
