Florida bill to ban marrying first cousins fails to pass

TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) – The Florida bill to ban marrying a first cousin failed to pass in the Florida Senate.

State lawmakers voted down HB-733, which proposed that “incestuous marriages” would not be recognized for any purpose in the state of Florida after July 1, 2026.

The bill had proposed that a man “may not marry any woman to whom he is related by lineal consanguinity, nor his sister, nor his aunt, nor his niece,” while a woman cannot marry a man “whom she is related by lineal consanguinity, nor her brother, nor her uncle, nor her nephew.”

State Representative Dean Black told Florida’s Action News Jax that he expects another vote on the same issue sometime in the future.

“There are plenty of people here, and there are plenty of people you can find to be your lifelong partner without looking to your first cousin,” Black said.

Florida is one of more than a dozen states where marrying your first cousin is legal, but most of the United States has banned such marriages.

Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

More State Watch News

Trump’s takeover of DC landmarks reaches legal apex

Rand Paul confronts Markwayne Mullin over ‘snake’ remark; says he has ...

Thune: Republicans will use SAVE Act in midterms if Democrats don’t get ‘on ...

US military drops 5,000-pound deep-penetrator bombs near Strait of Hormuz 

GOP tempers flare over how to pass SAVE America Act

Judge skeptical over Trump ballroom project amid new bid to halt it 

Live updates: Paul tussles with Mullin at DHS hearing; Iran operation dominates ...

Peters presses Mullin to explain past comments: ‘Where did you smell war?’

Bolton says he briefed Trump on Iran scenarios: ‘Hard to believe that he ...

Republicans collide with Trump over no-excuse absentee voting, SAVE Act

Former Trump appointee: MAGA movement is ‘dead’

Johnson says Democrats’ pitch to fund DHS without ICE, CBP would ‘defund ...

Housing bill backed by Senate GOP, Trump hits roadblocks with House Republicans

Trump allies plan Senate floor takeover to pass SAVE America Act

Democrats are being total hypocrites over the SAVE America Act 

Judge permanently blocks Ten Commandments displays at several Arkansas school ...

© The Hill