1st cousin marriage

[Wiseplumnet]

AIBU to ask your opinion on 1st cousin marriage?.I have read that the government is looking to ban it. I know it is more prevelent ( but declining) in the UK among people of Asian origin. I am not coming from a judgemental or racist angle. I am just interested to know how mum'snetters of all ethnicities feel about marriage between 1st cousin's. I know it used to be more common in the west at one time, apart from keeping money/property in families, people travelled less widely, so there was less choice of marriage partners.I worked with a girl ( White British) who was in a secret relationship with her 1st cousin and they are very reluctant to tell their family, so there seems to be a cultural taboo in 1st cousins being romantically involved.Genetic factors resulting in disabilities (statistically twice as many as in unrelated parents) is sometimes given as a reason for banning cousin marriage, however we have genetic screening now, and disabilities aren't always serious.As so many babies died in infancy before we had vaccines, better health care etc , it was probably difficult to differentiate whether the close relationship between parents was the cause of any disabilities their children . Speaking for myself,I can't imagine wanting to marry any of the cousins I was brought up with as they seem more like brothers to me, but I could understand why someone may be attracted to a 1st cousin who they first met as adults. Or does it give you the instant 'Yuk' ? Also is banning 1st cousin marriage the same as banning 1st cousin sexual relationships and children, or would that become illegal? Maybe there's no need for a legal ban as the tradition will just die out over time

Can't see the problem.

Norway and China did not tie themselves in knots on this issue.

They have simply gone ahead and banned it.

We tie ourselves in knots on everything. Frustrating.

China banned this rubbish in 1981.

This level of handwringing is ridiculous.

As someone said on another thread, We are the dumping ground for the world’s criminally insane (giving asylum to those declined by other countries for criminality). We are also the world’s health service and the last bastion of all practices banned in every other developed nation.

We should worry a lot less about upsetting people, and put the children first.

Yes, while other countries act robustly, we're governed by cowards who are afraid to take any action.

I won't be surprised if in 20 years Britain has become the epicentre for jihadis and fundamentalism as we just carry on accommodating harmful practices like this.

That was such a disturbing watch.

That's whataboutery at its finest.

When everyone has banned the burqa, declined to offer asylum to rapists and murderers, outlawed Islamic State terrorists and made cousin marriage illegal - oh, and limited benefits for foreign arrivals - Britain will be the kindest most generous nation on earth - and also a cesspit.

The MP quoted below shows some of why. Labour blocked a PMB on this from the conservatives.

Starmer did at least. Perhaps it’ll change. But yeh it’s ridiculous.

You don't have to look far to see it's a problem.

BBC News - Cousin marriage: The new evidence about children's ill health - BBC News
www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c241pn09qqjo?app-referrer=deep-link

The answer lies in the prevalence of disability within a lineage of first cousin marriages. The culture prefers it due to the retention of resources, but when two or three kids out of a family of seven are profoundly disabled that care falls on the mother and I think it’s incredibly fair to her (who undoubtedly was pressured into the arranged marriage in the first place) and the child.

Yes, I think this is where Britain is heading. Then the open borders brigade will be happy, as they've helped to transform what had been a fairly stable, creative and quirky little island into a complete mess.

You'd ban someone voluntarily choosing to wear the burqa?

Absolutely. Many countries gave banned face coverings including the burqa and niqab: Austria, France, Belgium and some Muslim majority countries like Tunisia. Face coverings are a barrier to community cohesion.

The interesting point about the Hapsburgs is that the increasing physical deformity and mental damage was illustrated clearly and evidenced with each generation of intermarriage, eventually leading to the dying out of the family. It isn't really whataboutery IMO, it is a very simple explanation of the consequences of reproducing in a tiny gene pool.

The family haven’t died out. There’s a Hapsburg on X!

Which blows my mind. It’s like having a Plantagenet on X.

Yes, it is fascinating, especially those paintings of the family members where the deformities are clear to see. And it actually supports the notion of banning first cousin marriage.

I would ban the wearing of a face veil in public facing roles. Face covering has roots back before Islam when slave girls and women were transported to market to sell, their masters of course kept them covered until they were sold keeping them covered kept their most prized virgin girls safer from kidnap - this history repeated itself only recently with Yazidi women

It is not progressive but there are many women who have had to wear the face veil and not doing so will be problematic for them so I do not support a complete ban

Its no coincidence that the increase in face covering has been in line with the rise of the influence of ultra conservative Wahhabism influence funded by wealth from Saudi

Sorry - I should have said the direct line of monarchs died out - the intermarriage being specifically to keep the crown.
Does the one on X have the chin?

24 countries have in some way so far including countries similar to us