Prohibited marriages; exceptions
1. Marriage out of State to evade law. When residents
of this State, with intent to evade this section and to
return and reside here, go into another state or country
to have their marriage solemnized there and afterwards return
and reside here, that marriage is void in this State.
1-A. Certain marriages performed in another state not
recognized in this State. Any marriage performed in another
state that would violate any provisions of subsections 2
to 5 if performed in this State is not recognized in this
State and is considered void if the parties take up residence
in this State.
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2. Prohibitions based on degrees of consanguinity; exceptions.
This subsection governs marriage between relatives.
A. A man may not marry his mother, grandmother, daughter,
granddaughter, sister, brother's daughter, sister's daughter,
father's sister, mother's sister, the daughter of his
father's brother or sister or the daughter of his mother's
brother or sister. A woman may not marry her father, grandfather,
son, grandson, brother, brother's son, sister's son, father's
brother, mother's brother, the son of her father's brother
or sister or the son of her mother's brother or sister.
B. Notwithstanding paragraph A, a man may marry the daughter
of his father's brother or sister or the daughter of his
mother's brother or sister, and a woman may marry the
son of her father's brother or sister or the son of her
mother's brother or sister as long as, pursuant to sections
651 and 652, the man or woman provides the physician's
certificate of genetic counseling.
3. Persons under disability. A person who is impaired by
reason of mental illness or mental retardation to the extent
that that person lacks sufficient understanding or capacity
to make, communicate or implement responsible decisions
concerning that person's property or person is not capable
of contracting marriage. For the purposes of this section:
A. "Mental illness" means a psychiatric or
other disease that substantially impairs a person's mental
health; and
B. "Mental retardation" means a condition of
significantly subaverage intellectual functioning resulting
in or associated with concurrent impairments in adaptive
behavior and manifested during the developmental period.
4. Polygamy. A marriage contracted while either party is
not divorced from a living wife or husband is void.
5. Same sex marriage prohibited . Persons of the same
sex may not contract marriage .
(19-A Maryland Revised Statutes Ann. section 701)
