It would be a massive step forward for a country that used to execute homosexuals.
Cuba is currently in the midst of reforming its constitution, and one of the changes leaves the door open for same-sex marriage to be legalised.
The official state newspaper Granma reports that the definition of marriage will be redefined to a “voluntary and consensual union between two people without distinction of sex.”
Although the definition has been redefined, it doesn’t mean that same-sex marriages will be immediately legalised when the document is adopted. However, it will make future legislative or legal processes easier to advance.
And it’s not just same-sex marriage that the new constitution could bring. It has also been reformed to adopt anti-discrimination measures against the LGBTQ community. This means that it will no longer be legal to discriminate against someone because of their sexual orientation or gender identity.
On the new constitution, Reuters reports that Homero Acosta, the Secretary of the Council of State, said: “The possibility of marriage between two people strengthens our project’s principles of equality and justice.”
One of the main reasons that these changes came about is because of the work of Mariela Castro, the daughter of the country’s former leader, Raúl Castro.
During the Days against Homophobia and Transphobia in Cuba, she confirmed that she would push for the measures to be adopted when the country began reforming its constitution.
Mariela has proven herself to be a major ally to the LGBTQ community in Cuba. Back in 2015, she attracted controversy from conservatives when she officiated a ceremonial same-sex wedding in the country.
Speaking at the time, she denied that she was seeking political points, instead saying: “Same sex marriage is already legal in Argentina and Uruguay and in Mexico City. And we’ve always celebrated their achievements.
“So we’re not interested in being the first. For us, it’s just about achieving it in the first place.”
Many nations around Cuba have legalised same-sex marriage like Argentina, Uruguay and Colombia. And back in January, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights ruled that 20 other countries in the region needed to do the same. Costa Rica made plans to do so, but the first same-sex wedding in the country was blocked the day before it took place.
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