Ban marriage between first cousins.

This would mean changing two pieces of legislation: the Marriage Act 1949 and the Sexual Offences Act 2003.

Last fetched 03 May 2026 · petition.parliament.uk

Signatures

signatures

Government response threshold (10,000) · 11/10,000

Debate threshold (100,000) · 11/100,000

Background

Ending 1st cousin marriage would be positive for:
Cohesion. Boosting social integration, ending communities living separate lives
Freedom. Enhancing individual liberty, particularly of women
Health. Reducing debilitating genetic disorders

Many of worlds most prosperous countries have banned 1st cousin marriage including most US States & Norway (Sweden & Denmark are actively considering bans). The UK, which led the world tackling forced marriage and raised the marriage age to 18, should act now.