Cuban voters decisively approve gay marriage in referendum

Cuban voters voted decisively this weekend to approve gay marriage in the country, a move that gives Cuban members of the LGBTQ+ community the ability to marry, build families, and other important life choices.

Under the new legalization of gay marriage, Cuban same-sex couples are also now allowed to adopt children, enter into civil unions, and are encouraged to share household responsibilities equally between partners. The referendum was held on Sunday, with early figures showing 74 percent of Cuba’s 8.4 million eligible voters showing up to the polls.

Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel Tweeted on Monday in celebration of the vote, writing “Love is now the law.” 

The president has long been a supporter of gay marriage, though he has pointed to the difficulties associated with such a sweeping change.

“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 before the referendum.

“Yes won. Justice has been done,” the president wrote. “To approve the #CódigoDeLasFamilias is to do justice. It is paying off a debt with several generations of Cuban men and women, whose family projects have been waiting for this Law for years. Starting today, we will be a better nation.” 

Of the votes, 33 percent were against legalizing gay marriage in the country. Cuba has seen a rise in freedom of religion since Fidel Castro’s brother Raul succeeded him as secretary of the Cuban Communist Party in 2011. With that uptick in religious freedom has come some strong opposition to things like gay marriage.