NEW YORK: Court Allows "Incestuous" Marriage Between Niece And Half-Uncle

The New York Court of Appeals has unanimously ruled that the marriage between a woman and her half-uncle is no more incestuous than marriages between first cousins, which are allowed in many states including New York. The case reached the appeals court after an immigration judge tried to have the woman deported to Vietnam on the grounds that her marriage was invalid.

Marszalkowski said he won the case by zeroing in on the language of the state’s domestic-relations law. The statute reads that “a marriage is incestuous and void whether the relatives are legitimate or illegitimate between either: 1. An ancestor and a descendant; 2. A brother and sister of either the whole or half blood; 3. An uncle and niece or an aunt and nephew.” Incest is a crime punishable by a $50 to $100 fine and up to six months in jail. Marszalkowski determined that as a matter of consanguinity, or blood relations, half-uncles and nieces share the same level of genetic ties as first cousins — or only one-eighth the same DNA. “It really was the equivalent of cousins marrying, which has been allowed in New York state for well over 100 years,” Marszalkowski said.

The couple, whose ages are only four years apart, has been married for 14 years and they have no children. The suit named US Attorney General Eric Holder, whose office is responsible for enforcing immigration laws. The case has already launched "we TOLD you!" articles in Teabagistan.