Gov. Ron DeSantis indicated he wants the Florida lawmakers to end marriages between first cousins in the state, arguing the practice is out of line with American values while speaking to Sean Hannity on Fox News this week.
"Well, in a lot of states, it's not," DeSantis said to Sean Hannity. "Florida needs to get with the program on that one. It's obviously part of cultures that are antithetical to American values, and so that's something that we will get done, one way or another."
According to LegalMatch, cousin marriage is legal in Alabama, Alaska, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Washington D.C., Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, and Virginia.
Cousin marriage is not legal in Arkansas, Delaware, Idaho, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.
Laws also vary in other states.
More to the issue, Gov. DeSantis associated the problem with the rise of Islamic extremism under Shari'a law.
Cousin marriage is allowed in many Muslim countries in the Middle East, North Africa, and South Asia. Gov. DeSantis signed a bill to prohibit the use of Shari'a law in state courts earlier this week.
The law also permits the governor to designate groups as foreign or domestic terrorist organizations and ban students promoting terrorist groups from receiving public education funds.
"You've got to draw a very clear red line. And the red line I've drawn is we'll spend millions on public safety, millions on education, but not one cent for jihad," DeSantis said.
Florida's law comes after several violent incidents of Islamic extremism, including at Old Dominion University and Austin, Texas, in recent months.
"We have to identify groups that are supporting these organizations. And it may not be that they're personally committing attacks, but if they're funding them or providing material support, that's something that our state has got to recognize and then act appropriately," DeSantis added.
