Yesterday's story about the Louisiana judge denying a marriage license to an interracial couple prompted me to look into the state's actual marriage laws.

Apparently, in Louisiana you can:

• Marry at age 16, with a parent's consent.
• Obtain a marriage license by proxy, as long as one of the parties is present and has the certified birth certificate of the absent party.
• Marry your first-cousin once-removed, or your adopted first-cousin.

But it seems as though it would be frowned upon to marry your absent 16-year-old cousin-once-removed if he/she is of a different race.

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