Cuba To Hold Referendum On Marriage Equality
July 25, 2022Cuba is to hold a referendum September 25 on whether to adopt a new Family Code, in a move that could open the door for more couples to marry and adopt.
On Friday, the communist state’s national assembly approved plans for a vote on the update, which is aimed at ensuring greater rights for women and children, according to The Washington Post. The changes will require more than 50% of votes to pass, with Cubans living abroad able to vote a week before the date of the referendum.
In addition to same-sex marriage, the new laws will also permit surrogacy and allow individuals other than biological mothers and fathers to be recognized as parents.
Cuban Justice Minister Oscar Silvera Martínez welcomed the decision to hold the referendum, describing Friday’s vote in parliament as a historic day. “It is the result of a lot of work and, in particular, the contribution of our people,” he tweeted, urging Cubans to vote in support of the changes.
The changes face opposition from religious groups, whose vocal objection prevented marriage equality from being included in a new version of the Cuban constitution in 2019.
Catholic bishops in the country said that “the majority of Cubans wanted the definition of marriage to be maintained as the union of a man and a woman, as it appears in the current Family Code of 1975.”
A number of other Latin American countries have already passed similar laws, while federal courts and a number of states in Mexico also allow same-sex couples to marry.
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