Cuban government approves law to allow same-sex marriage

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Cuban government approves law to allow same-sex marriage

The Cubans have approved a family law code that would allow same-sex couples to marry and adopt as well as redefining rights for children and grandparents, even though opposition to the national referendum was unusually strong on the Communist Party-governed island, officials said Monday.

The measure, which contains more than 400 articles, was approved by 66.9% to 33.1%, said the president of the National Electoral Council, Alina Balseiro Guti rrez, told official news media that returns from a few places remained to be counted.

The reforms had met unusually strong open resistance from the growing evangelical movement in Cuba — and many other Cubans despite an extensive government campaign in favor of the measure, including thousands of informative meetings across the country and extensive media coverage backing it.

In the Cuban elections, in which no party other than the Communist is allowed, routinely produces victory margins of more than 90%, as did a referendum on a major constitutional reform in 2019.

The code would allow surrogate pregnancies, broader rights for grandparents in regard to grandchildren, protection of the elderly and measures against gender violence.

President Miguel D az-Canel, who has promoted the law, acknowledged questions about the measure as he voted on Sunday.

Most of our people will vote in favor of the code, but it still has issues that our society as a whole does not understand, he said.

After years of debate about such reforms, the measure was approved by the National Assembly in Cuba.

A major supporter of the measure was Mariela Castro, the director of the National Center for Sex Education, a promoter of rights for same-sex couples, daughter of former President Raul Castro and niece of his brother Fidel.

There is a strong strain of social conservatism in Cuba and several religious leaders have expressed concern or opposition to the law. Cuba was officially and often militantly atheist for decades after the 1959 revolution led by Fidel Castro's brother Fidel Castro, but over the past quarter century it has become more tolerant of religions. That has meant greater openings not only to the once-dominant Roman Catholic Church, but also to Afro-Cuban religions, protestants and Muslims.

Some churches took advantage of the opening in 2018 and 2019 to campaign against another plebiscite which would have rewritten the constitution in a way to allow gay marriage.

The opposition was strong enough that the government backed away at that time.