Depends on where and when. It is generally frowned upon, but the legality varies from state to state in the USA. Genetically, there is little concern about ONE close match in a line. It is isolated communities where it happens frequently that have real issues. You double up on the good genes, but you also double up on the bad traits too. Then the members that get a lot of good genes tend to leave the community and it spirals downhill. The royal lines in Europe and Egypt show it 1st hand. Some geniuses and the Habsburg chin - Yikes! -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Paul Luddington Sent: Tuesday, July 26, 2011 9:12 AM To: Lud List Subject: [LUDDINGTON] Ludds Hi All Is it legal for first cousins to marry? I always thought it had to be second? Paul This list is adoptable. If you would like to volunteer to adminster this list, click here: http://resources.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/listrequest.pl ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message