Cuba legalized same-sex marriage after Cubans voted in favor of a family code that increases protection for minorities on the island, the country’s National Electoral Council announced on Monday.
The body said 74.1% of those eligible to vote in Sunday’s national referendum ended up voting. With 94% of votes counted by 9am on Monday, 3,936,790 voted in favor and 1,950,090 against which is overwhelming support for the new law.
The new family code expands protections for women, children and seniors and allows LGBTQIA+ couples to marry and adopt children.
For decades, LGBTQIA+ people in Cuba faced official discrimination on the communist-ruled island. In the early 1960s, after Fidel Castro came to power, many homosexuals were sent to government labor camps along with political dissidents.
What is the new family code
Last July, Cuba’s National Assembly approved the Family Code, a legislative package that was put to a referendum on Sunday and that, among other things, opens the door to same-sex marriage on the island.
The Family Code seeks to “protect vulnerable sectors of society” and paves the way for same-sex marriage and an end to other family-related discrimination.
The referendum also sets out protections for children, the elderly, adoptive parents and women’s rights.
Source: CNN Brasil
I’m James Harper, a highly experienced and accomplished news writer for World Stock Market. I have been writing in the Politics section of the website for over five years, providing readers with up-to-date and insightful information about current events in politics. My work is widely read and respected by many industry professionals as well as laymen.
