Cousin marriage

[ingemann]

Even without any genetic reasons, one can make a case for banning cousin marriage as a way of preventing a group of people from becoming too insular and isolated from the rest of society.  It's not merely genetics that makes close marriage a bad thing when it is the norm.

I have heard this argument before, it usual come from the anti-Muslim right in Europe. I'm personal not a fan of it, through it make more sense that the genetic one, the latter suffer under the fact, that groups which practice cousin marriage to an limited extent, tend to be more healthy than one which doesn't practice it all. As for the cultural ones, people do have a right to isolate themselves and keep their cultural aspect, as long as they're not a burden on the rest of society it's not something the state should deal with.

[ingemann]

I'm astounded that anyone could downplay the negative genetic repercussions of inbreeding. Well, maybe not.

http://www.as.wvu.edu/~kgarbutt/QuantGen/Gen535_2_2004/Inbreeding_Humans.htm

http://helorimer.people.ysu.edu/inbred.html

We just lack a smug smiley here.

Yes I guess you're unable to get the difference between "limited extent" and mutual generation continued inbreeding.

Edit: Also haemophilia have nothing to do inbreeding, as male carriers also always die before they can reproduce. The negative effects we see in inbreeding are when two carriers of a recessive chromosome get a child with both chromosomes having the disease (somehing which have 25% chance of happening if both carry the chromosome). Haemophilia on the other hand are carried on the x chromosome, which mean that a woman need two of the chromosome and men only one, the result is that male children of the carriers have 50% of getting the disease no matter who their father is.