Mon. September 26, 2022
Havana, Cuba -
Despite a long history of oppressive measures against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people, Cuba elected to codify marriage equality in its laws.
In a September 25 vote, about two-thirds of Cuban voters passed a new version of their Family Code. They needed over 50 percent of the vote to pass the law.
The lengthy document of about 100 pages expands the rights of LGBTQ couples by protecting surrogate pregnancies and allowing adoption.
President Miguel Diaz-Canel championed the law and insisted the nation needed to reflect the reality that LGBTQ people exist and deserve recognition and protection from discrimination.
This is in stark contrast with the regime of Fidel Castro, under whose leadership LGBTQ persons were sent to re-education campus and forced to suffer hard labor.
Evangelical and Catholic leaders opposed the new Family Code, arguing that the Bible explicitly condemns homosexuality. They used conservative interpretations of Scripture long-used elsewhere in the world to fight the law.
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