Justice Has Been Done: Cuba Votes To Legalise Same-Sex Marriage And Adoption

Cuba voted to legalise same-sex marriage and adoption in a national referendum. According to the national election commission, the historic referendum backed by the government also boosted rights for women.

According to National Electoral Council President Alina Balseiro Gutierrez, Cubans overwhelming approved reforms in a new Family Code, which would legalise same-sex marriage and give same-sex couples the right to adopt children.

Cuba Legalises Same-Sex Marriage

At 66.9 percent, more than 3.9 million voters approved reforms in a new Family Code. At 33 percent, 1.95 million voters opposed the reforms. Preliminary results from the electoral commission showed 74 percent of 8.4 million eligible voters participated in the Sunday referendum. All Cubans above the age of 16 were eligible to vote for the proposal.

Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel took to Twitter and shared, “Justice has been done”. He added that the referendum is “paying off a debt with several generations of Cuban men and women, whose family projects have been waiting for this law for years.”

Diaz-Canel signed off with, “Starting today, we will be a better nation.”

The Family Code legalises same-sex marriage and civil unions, allows same-sex couples to adopt children, promotes equally sharing domestic responsibilities between men and women, and includes measures against gender violence. The law will also allow surrogate pregnancies, protection of the elderly, and broader rights for grandparents in regard to grandchildren.

While the reforms were approved by a majority of Cubans, they were also met with strong resistance from religious groups and conservatives. The reforms were supported by the communist government, but criticised by the Catholic and evangelical church leaders.

The referendum marks a giant moment for the country, as gay people were persecuted and sent to work camps in the 1960s and 1970s. While homosexuality was legalised in 1979, members of the LGBTQ+ community said they still faced open discrimination.

In 2019, the government sought to include same-sex marriage in the country’s new constitution, but strong opposition and criticism from the Church caused the government at the time to back down.

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