The New York State Senate denied a bill supporting gay marriage on December 2. The vote was 38-to-24, which for a heavily Democratic New York was a surprising ultimatum.

      According to the New York Times, “Senators who voted against the measure said the public was gripped by economic anxiety and remained uneasy about changing the state’s definition of marriage.” The possibility of same-sex marriage is now laid to rest until 2011, when a new legislature will be put into action. With another state denying gay couples the right to marry, it brings up the question of how many states allow same-sex marriage so far and with research, a surprising trend.

      So far, same-sex marriage is only allowed in five of the fifty states, which is a mere 10% of the country. But more states allow marriage between first cousins than gay couples.

      Twenty-six states allow first cousin nuptials. Alabama, Alaska, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, South Carolina, Texas, Vermont, and Virginia, make the list of states allowing marriage between first cousins (one parent of the husband is a sibling to one parent of the wife), and then Arizona, Illinois, Indiana, Maine, Utah and Wisconsin will allow the prior but some require the couples to be older and unable to reproduce and one requires genetic counseling.

      In contrast, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Iowa, Vermont and New Hampshire, make up the small amount of states allowing gay union. Four more states allow same-sex couples to register as domestic partners, including Washington, Oregon, Nevada, and California.

      All states, with the exception of Massachusetts and Iowa, allow marriage between first cousins, but not between gay couples. It’s not as if there are no first cousin marriages and that legislature just left it in their laws for some reason. According to an article in USA Today, genetics researcher Alan Bittles estimates that 20% of marriages worldwide are between relatives who are first cousins.

      This trend is as surprising as it is because of possible health risks for the children that are a product of a marriage between first cousins. Fornication between two people of the same bloodline as close as first cousins can cause recessive birth defects in their children that can come in the form of different genetic diseases. Some have argued that the children produced by first cousins only, have an extra 1.7 to 2.8 percent chance of having genetic diseases.

      In a study led by Robin Bennett, a genetics counselor at the University of Washington, the researchers found that children of marriages between cousins inherited recessive genetic disorders in 7% to 8% of cases. For the general population, the rate was 5%. (USA Today)

      However, according to Philip Reilly, a geneticist and author of ‘Abraham Lincoln’s DNA,’ a popular history of human genetics, “A 7 to 8% chance (of genetic disorder) is 50% greater than a 5% chance. That’s a significant difference. People counseling first cousins who want to marry need to be very careful and clear on this.” (USA Today)

      These recessive genetic diseases can span from cystic fibrosis to albinism to sickle cell anemia and countless others. For gay couples, married or not, adoption is a large option many consider, as well as surrogate parents. This may help orphaned children to find loving homes.

      In a survey taken of 50 males and 50 females that attend Varela, all were asked whether they would support marriage between same-sex partners, first cousins, both, or neither.

      The most prominent trend that appeared was that no one surveyed said that strictly first cousins should be allowed to be married.