Weddingbee boards

I was a little surprised by the number of people who said that as long as marriage was between 2 consenting adults, they thought it should be allowed.  This surprised me a little, as I do agree with some restrictions on who can marry who.

I think that certain relatives should not get married because this could cause genetic diseases and defects in children, and in some cases may raise some doubts about whether there actually is consent.

I also think that restrictions on bigamy/polygamy are reasonable for tax/welfare reasons.

Out of curiosity, what restrictions do you agree with? I just think a little perspective or a few different examples might help other posters think about their answers. Most people are probably looking at this as just a gay/straight question.

yeah besides gay marriage (in most states) I don't see what marriages are illegal if it's  2 adults.. unless you talking about relatives.. I know here in utah cousins cannot get married unless you're 65 or older.. it's some weird exception like that..

I feel if 2 people are 18 and older, and not blood related I feel they should be able to get married.

Yeah, incest is the only real problem I see here since the mixing of such similar gene pools has devastating effects on variability.

Incest is the only thing I can think of that I wouldn't agree with.  I'm even okay with polyagmy, as lost as the polygamist only receives the legal benefits of being married once.  That way taxes and property things would still be fair, and people won't benefit from being married more than once.  I think a good system would be where the polygamist assigns rights to a spouse (ex. X spouse gets my social security when I die).

I brought up incest in the other thread, and so far only one person agreed with me there, but many continued to state that as long as it was between two consent adults it was fine.

Besides the genetic issues, morally I just have a huge issue with the thought of genetically close relatives marrying each other.

@NDBee:  I agree, many times relatives marrying each other wouldn't be fully consensual, but sometimes it could be.

@sweetpea87:  I was thinking in terms of blood relatives, or even non-blood relatives (like 2 step siblings who actually grew up together as siblings).  In the question, I figured people could include polygamy if that's how they took it, or not.

@KatyElle: good point about the domestic violence...

I think the domestic violence is an interesting point as well.  Also, I would be fine if there was some limit on a couple who divorced each other previously, either a time limit before remarrying each other or if they actually got divorced twice that would be it.

Although the idea of incest is unsettling, I don't agree with the gene pool argument as it reminds me of of arguments for the sterilization of certain ethnic groups and of people with disabilities. And if you take that out of the equation, it just boils down to the uncomfortable factor within our mores.

So, I have to say yes, between any consenting adults.

@Lemma:  I didn't say they were the exactly the thing, I said it reminded me of sterilization. My point is that I'm not comfortable drawing a line anywhere when it comes to dictating who can get married/who can have children as it seems like a slippery slope. Perhaps there can be mandatory testing for blood relative couples who want to have children, but I don't think that we can say no, this is illegal.

I'm personally more comfotable with the idea of having to deal with the genetic implications of allowing it than the sociological implications of forbidding it.

EDIT: Also, there have been arguments for the sterilization of specific people due to a physical disability or low IQ, not just an ethnic group.

@Lemma: There totally are more, better options. And I certainly wouldn't be advocating for these hypothetical couples to have biological children, but I also wouldn't advocate against their ability to get married (which was the topic we got on a tangent from) or choice to have children if they wanted. (Though I could understand testing and education about the results or something, not sure how you could implement or dictate that.) I think our cultural "ick" factor is so entrenched in the idea of blood relatives marrying, that it would not be a situation that would happen often enough to have a great impact on the gene pool at large.

Yeah, I'm pretty sure that there have been some cases in the US. I remember learning about it in college, but can't remember specific names. Its sad.

Roe, I realize there are people who feel as you do, I'm just surprised that it's as high as 74% on the bee!

@AB Bride:  Heh, I think most people didn't consider all of the implications of the poll before they answered. ;)

@cubicalmouse:  Its surprising how many states already allow marriage between first cousins.