UPDATE: Rep. Nick Wilson has withdrawn the bill and said he will refile, explaining that removing cousins has been an 'inadvertent change" and that he had intended to update the existing law to add "sexual contact" with a minor to the statute, which currently only mentions intercourse. He said he had not intended to legalize relationships with cousins.
In a Facebook update, he wrote: "Currently, incest only applies in cases of intercourse. So sexual touching/groping by uncles, stepdads or anyone with a familial relationship is not included," he said. "My bill makes that kind of sexual contact a Class D felony, unless the victim is under the age of 12, then it increases the penalty to a Class C felony."
He went on to say that when drafting the bill, there was an "inadvertent change, which struck 'first cousins' from the list of relationships included" in the statute, and he said he failed to add it back in.
Wilson also cheered a "good system" because he was "able to file a bill, catch the mistake, withdraw the bill and refile within a 24 hour period."
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"Survivor" winner and Kentucky Republican lawmaker Nick Wilson wants to legalize sexual relations with first cousins as one of his flagship legislative issues in the 2024 session, Newsweek reported.
Wilson was elected for his first full term in 2023, having previously taken a seat after another Republican retired in 2022. He ran unopposed.
The Kentucky General Assembly introduced the bill on Tuesday. He said that the law would strike "first cousin from the list of familial relationships" defined as unlawful incest in Kentucky. It would also remove incest as a class D felony for some cases "unless it is committed with a person who is less than twelve years of age," in which case it is Class C. The age of consent in the state is 16.
According to the current state law, a person is guilty if they have sexual relations with a person they are knowingly aware is a "parent, child, grandparent, grandchild, great-grandparent, great-grandchild, uncle, aunt, nephew, niece, brother, sister, first cousin, ancestor, or descendant."
Wilson won the 37th season of CBS show Survivor in 2018.
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Newsweek shared a TikTok video from a fellow "Survivor" contestant and New York public defender Eliza Orlins reacting to the bill.
"Oh, my, God, I've got some wild news," she told fans. "This news relates to David vs. Goliath winner of Survivor Nick Wilson, who then leveraged the fame he obtained from winning Survivor to run for Kentucky state legislator and got elected.
"Nick Wilson is not only supporting but has introduced a bill that would reclassify incest in the state of Kentucky to not include your own first cousin. Kentucky, like so many other places, is facing a lot of issues, and this is Nick's top legislative priority."
