Lex Ennis ‘23
With 94% of votes that were counted as of 9am Monday morning Eastern Standard Time, 3.9 million Cubans voted to legalize gay marriage and allow same sex couples to adopt with the new family code.
The new family code gives many different sorts of benefits to different groups of people. Women, children, and the elderly are included in this new family code, but what is catching peoples eye is the legalization of gay marriage and allowing same sex couples to adopt without discrimination.
While this is definitely something to celebrate, Cuban citizens with others around the world reflect on the past of the country. The topic of legalizing gay marriage has been in the rounds within the country for a good while. Activists sharing infographics and informational twitter threads point out the government work camps of the early 1960s Cuban officials would put gay men and women in after Fidel Castro came into power.
Another point to look at is looking at the 2019 human rights protests set in Cuba. After Cuban legislators abandoned an act similar to the one passed this year, Cuban residents set out to peacefully protest. Most protests were broken up by Cuban police who state the reason for disturbing the protests was because the protests were unlawful without a license.
This new family code definitely calls for celebration. Justice Minister Oscar Silvera Martinez said it best in a tweet. “Our people, the sovereign protagonist of the referendum, approved the Family Code. From the Ministry of Justice, we congratulate all those who participated in the referendum on a Code of love, respect and equality. We are already working on its implementation and we will do it right,”
Sources: CNN, Peoples Dispatch.