A new bill aims to ban marriages between first cousins in Tennessee.
HB 2041/SB 1917, sponsored by Rep. Darren Jernigan, D-Old Hickory, and co-sponsored by Sen. Jeff Yarbro, D-Nashville, was introduced in January.
The bill would amend Tennessee Code Annotated Title Section 36-3-101 by deleting the language “nor the child of a grandparent” and substituting “nor the lineal descendant of a grandparent”.
According to the Tennessee General Assembly Fiscal Review Committee, prohibiting marriage between first cousins is not expected to have a significant impact on the number of marriages performed in Tennessee nor on the number of marriage licenses issued. Any fiscal impact to state or local government is estimated to be not significant.
The bill is scheduled to go to the House Children and Affairs Subcommittee on March 26 and the Senate Judiciary Committee on the same day.
Diana Leyva covers trending news and service for The Tennessean. Contact her at Dleyva@gannett.com or follow her on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter at @_leyvadiana
