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Same-sex marriage has been legal in Cuba since 27 September 2022 after a majority of voters approved the legalization of same-sex marriage in a referendum two days prior. [1] The Constitution of Cuba prohibited same-sex marriage until 2019, and in May 2019 the government announced plans to legalize same-sex marriage. [2] A draft family code containing provisions allowing same-sex couples to marry and adopt was approved by the National Assembly of People's Power on 21 December 2021. [3] The text was under public consultation until 6 June 2022, and was approved by the Assembly on 22 July 2022. [4] The measure was approved by two-thirds of voters in a referendum held on 25 September 2022. [5] [1] President Miguel Díaz-Canel signed the new family code into law on 26 September, [6] [7] and it took effect upon publication in the Official Gazette the following day. [8]
Cuba was the first independent nation in the Caribbean, the first communist state, the fourth country in North America, [9] the eighth in Latin America, [lower-alpha 1] and the 32nd in the world to legalize same-sex marriage.
A civil union law was first proposed in 2007. [10] The bill was reportedly discussed by the National Assembly of People's Power and promoted by Mariela Castro, director of the Cuban Sexual Education Center and daughter of the First Secretary of the Communist Party, Raúl Castro. [11] [12] [13] The legislation did not reach a vote in Parliament, even though Mariela Castro said that it had the support of her father. [14]
The 2022 Cuban Family Code put to a referendum on 25 September 2022 includes provisions allowing couples access to civil unions (uniones de hecho afectivas). [15] [1]
Article 36 of the Constitution of Cuba, enacted in 1976, defined marriage as "the voluntarily established union between a man and a woman" until 2019. [16] This wording constitutionally banned same-sex marriage. In December 2017, LGBT groups launched a public campaign to repeal the ban. [17] On 4 May 2018, Mariela Castro said she would propose an amendment to the Constitution and accompanying measure to legalize same-sex marriage, as the process of constitutional reform was expected to begin in July 2018. [18] [19] On 21 July, the Secretary of the Council of State, Homero Acosta Álvarez, said that the draft constitution included a provision defining marriage as a "union between two people". [20] [21] The National Assembly approved the draft on 22 July. It was subject to public consultation between 13 August and 15 November 2018. [22] [23] [24] [25] [26] [27]
The issue of same-sex marriage resulted in rare public debates and organising in Cuba. In June 2018, five Christian denominations called same-sex marriage "contrary to the spirit of Communist Revolution". [28] In what was described as "a war of posters", both opponents and supporters of same-sex marriage displayed hundreds of posters around Havana. [29] In September 2018, following conservative opposition to the proposal to legalise same-sex marriage, President Miguel Díaz-Canel announced his support for same-sex marriage in his first interview since taking office in April, telling TV Telesur that he supported "marriage between people without any restrictions", and was in favor of "eliminating any type of discrimination in society". [30] [31]
On 18 December, the constitutional commission removed the definition of marriage from the draft. Instead, the commission chose to use gender-neutral language and define marriage as a "social and legal institution" without reference to the gender of the parties. This meant that the new constitution would not legalize same-sex marriage, but at the same time the ban on same-sex marriage would be repealed. [32] [33] Mariela Castro said that same-sex marriage would instead be legalised through a change to the Family Code. The new constitution was approved in a referendum by 90.6% of voters on 24 February 2019, and took effect on 10 April 2019. [34] [35] Article 82 reads as follows:
Marriage is a social and legal institution. It is one form of family organization. It is based on free will and equality of rights, obligations and legal capacity of the spouses. The law decides how it is constituted and its effects. [lower-alpha 2]
Before the legalization of same-sex marriage in September 2022, article 2 of the Cuban Family Code restricted marriage to "a man and a woman". It also did not recognize same-sex marriages performed outside of Cuba. [37]
In early March 2019, shortly after the constitutional referendum, the government launched a public consultation process on a new family code that would include provisions recognizing same-sex marriage. [2] In May 2019, it was announced that the Union of Jurists of Cuba was working on the new code, with a source stating that "Cuba is working today on the elaboration of a new Code of the Family, with the challenge of including the diversity of family institutions and problems of the social scenario". [38] A draft family code legalizing same-sex marriage was presented in September 2021. [39] It was approved unanimously by the National Assembly on 21 December 2021, [40] and published in the Official Gazette on 13 January 2022. [41] The text was under public consultation from 15 February to 6 June 2022. [5] [42] 79,000 meetings were held across Cuba in which about 6.5 million citizens participated, according to official data. The government reported that 61% of the responses to the consultation were in favor of same-sex marriage. [43] During the consultation process, some LGBT activists criticized holding a referendum on the issue of same-sex marriage, arguing that minority rights should not be put to a public vote. The government said that it did not want to impose same-sex marriage by force against the public's will.
Article 201 of the code describes marriage as a "consensual union of two people", [lower-alpha 3] and chapter 3 of the code allows same-sex couples to adopt. The code also ensures greater protection for children and adolescents, the co-responsibility of parents in their education, and strict equality of rights between men and women. It also guarantees the right of minors not to be the object of exclusion, violence or parental neglect, and establishes a uniform marriageable age at 18 for men and women. Final approval by the Assembly occurred on 22 July 2022, with the code put to a referendum on 25 September 2022. [4] [44] Approximately 67% of voters approved the changes to the code, making Cuba the first communist state and the 32nd country in the world to legalize same-sex marriages. [45] [46] President Díaz-Canel signed the new code into law on 26 September, [6] [7] and it took effect the following day upon publication in the Official Gazette. [8] The first same-sex marriage in Cuba was performed on 5 October 2022 in Manzanillo. [47]
Choice | Votes | % |
---|---|---|
Yes | 3,950,288 | 66.85 |
No | 1,959,097 | 33.15 |
Valid votes | 5,909,385 | 94.26 |
Invalid or blank votes | 360,042 | 5.74 |
Total votes | 6,269,427 | 100.00 |
Registered voters/turnout | 8,447,467 | 74.22 |
Writing in the Havana Times , commentator and human rights activist Luis Rondón Paz argued that the government never intended to legalize same-sex marriage, and was instead seeking to deflect attention from other domestic issues and promote itself internationally as a progressive state. [49] Some LGBT activist groups criticised the 2022 Cuban Family Code referendum as "a smokescreen for repression and human rights violations by the government", [50] an attempt at "pinkwashing", and argued that the Parliament should have approved a law on same-sex marriage without a referendum "because human rights should not be subject to the majority's will". [51] In an op-ed for the Council on Hemispheric Affairs, Tamara Hansen argued that "[s]ome [people] considered [that] pushing forward with explicit recognition of the right to same-sex marriage without building wider understanding and support could undermine the constitutional reform process. In particular, it could have opened a space for enemies of the Cuban revolution to sow further division in society [...]". [52]
A pastor from the Metropolitan Community Church in Matanzas officiated at the marriage ceremony of Luis Alberto Vallejo Rodríguez and Luis Miguel Fernández Neves on 6 October 2019, in what is believed to be the first church wedding for a same-sex couple in Cuba, though the marriage lacked legal recognition at the time. [53]
A 2019 Apretaste opinion survey showed that 63.1% of Cubans were in favor of legalising same-sex marriage, while 36.9% were opposed. [54]
Same-sex marriage has been legal in Chile since 10 March 2022. The path to legalization began in June 2021 when President Sebastián Piñera announced his administration's intention to sponsor a bill for this cause. The Chilean Senate passed the legislation on 21 July 2021, followed by the Chamber of Deputies on 23 November 2021. Due to disagreements between the two chambers of the National Congress on certain aspects of the bill, a mixed commission was formed to resolve these issues. A unified version of the bill was approved on 7 December 2021. President Piñera signed it into law on 9 December, and it was published in the country's official gazette on 10 December. The law took effect 90 days later, and the first same-sex marriages occurred on 10 March 2022. Chile was the sixth country in South America, the seventh in Latin America and the 29th in the world to legalize same-sex marriage.
Same-sex marriage is legally recognized and performed throughout Mexico since 2022. On 10 August 2010 the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation ruled that same-sex marriages performed anywhere within Mexico must be recognized by the 31 states without exception, and fundamental spousal rights except for adoption have also applied to same-sex couples across the country. Mexico was the fifth country in North America and the 33rd worldwide to allow same-sex couples to marry nationwide.
Same-sex marriage has been legal in Ecuador since 8 July 2019 in accordance with a Constitutional Court ruling issued on 12 June 2019 that the ban on same-sex marriage was unconstitutional under the Constitution of Ecuador. The court held that the Constitution required the government to license and recognise same-sex marriages. It focused its ruling on an advisory opinion issued by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights in January 2018 that member states should grant same-sex couples "accession to all existing domestic legal systems of family registration, including marriage, along with all rights that derive from marriage". The ruling took effect upon publication in the government gazette on 8 July.
Venezuela does not recognize same-sex unions. In 2008, the Supreme Tribunal of Justice ruled that the Constitution of Venezuela neither prohibits nor requires the recognition of same-sex marriage. In January 2015, a lawsuit seeking to legalise same-sex marriage in Venezuela was filed with the Supreme Tribunal, which announced in April 2016 that it would hear the case, though no decision has yet been issued. On 24 February 2022, a deputy of the opposition Cambiemos Movimiento Ciudadano party introduced a same-sex marriage bill to the National Assembly.
Same-sex marriage is legal in the following countries: Andorra, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Denmark, Ecuador, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Luxembourg, Malta, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Uruguay.
El Salvador does not recognize same-sex marriage, civil unions or any other legal union for same-sex couples. A proposal to constitutionally ban same-sex marriage and adoption by same-sex couples was rejected twice in 2006, and once again in April 2009 after the Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN) refused to grant the measure the four votes it needed to be ratified.
Same-sex marriage has been legal in Chihuahua since 12 June 2015. By statute, in Mexico, if any five rulings from the courts on a single issue result in the same outcome, legislatures are bound to change the law. In the case of Chihuahua, more than 20 individual amparos were decided with the same outcome, yet the Congress did not act. In anticipation of the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation ordering the Congress to act, Governor César Duarte Jáquez announced on 11 June that there would be no further prohibition in the state. Marriage licenses became available the following day, 12 June 2015. Chihuahua was the third Mexican state to legalize same-sex marriage, after Quintana Roo and Coahuila.
Same-sex marriage has been legal in Michoacán since 23 June 2016. On 18 May 2016, the Congress of Michoacán approved a bill to legalise same-sex marriage by a vote of 27 in favour, none opposed and 8 abstentions. The law was published in the state's official journal on 22 June, and took effect the following day. Previously, Congress had refused to amend the Family Code to legalize same-sex marriage, despite a ruling by a state judge requiring it to do so.
Same-sex marriage has been legal in Chiapas in accordance with a Supreme Court ruling issued on 11 July 2017 that the ban on same-sex marriage violated the equality and non-discrimination provisions of Articles 1 and 4 of the Constitution of Mexico. The ruling, published in the Official Journal of the Federation on 11 May 2018, legalized same-sex marriage in the state of Chiapas.
Same-sex marriage has been legal in Morelos since 5 July 2016. A bill to amend the State Constitution to legalize same-sex marriage in Morelos passed Congress on 18 May 2016 by 20 votes to 6. Ratification by a majority of the state's 33 municipalities was confirmed on 27 June 2016. The law was published in the official state gazette on 4 July 2016 and took effect the following day.
Same-sex marriage has been legal in Querétaro since 13 November 2021. On 22 September 2021, the state Congress passed a law legalizing same-sex marriage in Querétaro. The law was published in the state's official gazette on 12 November, and took effect the following day. Previously, same-sex couples could marry in eight of the eighteen municipalities of Querétaro, comprising 60% of the state's population, despite a state law prohibiting same-sex marriage.
Same-sex marriage has been legal in Zacatecas since 30 December 2021. On 14 December 2021, the Congress of Zacatecas passed a same-sex marriage bill by 18 votes to 10. The legislation was published in the official state gazette on 29 December, and came into force the following day. Prior to statewide legalisation, five municipalities of Zacatecas issued marriage licenses to same-sex couples despite a state ban, comprising about a quarter of the state population. These five municipalities were Zacatecas City, Cuauhtémoc, Villanueva, Miguel Auza and Fresnillo.
Same-sex marriage has been legal in San Luis Potosí since 21 May 2019. The Congress of San Luis Potosí approved a bill to legalize same-sex marriage on 16 May 2019. It was signed into law by Governor Juan Manuel Carreras on 17 May and published in the official state journal on 20 May. The law took effect the following day.
Same-sex marriage has been legal in Veracruz since 13 June 2022. On 30 May 2022, the Mexican Supreme Court ruled that the state's same-sex marriage ban violated Articles 1 and 4 of the Constitution of Mexico. The Congress of Veracruz passed a bill to legalize same-sex marriage three days later on 2 June 2022. It was published in the official state journal on 13 June and went into effect the same day.
Same-sex marriage has been legal in Yucatán since 4 March 2022. On 25 August 2021, the Congress of Yucatán removed a constitutional ban on same-sex marriages. The new law entered into force on 7 September 2021. Congress had 180 days to change statutory law to accommodate same-sex marriage, and did so unanimously on 1 March. The law took effect three days later, and made Yucatán the 25th Mexican state to legalize same-sex marriage.
Same-sex marriage has been legal in Tabasco since 27 October 2022. A bill to legalise same-sex marriage was passed by the Congress of Tabasco on 19 October 2022. It was signed by Governor Carlos Manuel Merino Campos, and published in the official state journal on 26 October, taking effect the next day. Tabasco was the fourth-to-last state in Mexico to legalize same-sex marriage.
A referendum was held on 25 September 2022 in Cuba to approve amendments to the Family Code of the Cuban Constitution. The referendum passed, greatly strengthening gender equality, legalizing same-sex marriage, same-sex adoption, and altruistic surrogacy, and affirming a wide range of rights and protections for women, children, the elderly and people with disabilities. Following the referendum, Cuba's family policies have been described as among the most progressive in Latin America.
Same-sex marriage has been legal in Durango since 19 September 2022 in accordance with an executive order issued by Governor Esteban Villegas Villarreal the previous day, addressed to officials of the state civil registry that same-sex couples can marry in the state. The Congress of Durango passed same-sex marriage legislation three days later.
Same-sex marriage has been legal in the State of Mexico since 2 November 2022. On 11 October 2022, the Congress of the State of Mexico voted 50–16 with seven abstentions to pass a bill legalizing same-sex marriage. It was published on 1 November 2022, and took effect the next day. The State of Mexico was the third-to-last state in Mexico to provide for same-sex marriage.
Same-sex marriage has been legal in Tamaulipas since 19 November 2022. On 26 October 2022, the Congress of Tamaulipas passed a bill to legalize same-sex marriage in a 23–12 vote. It was published in the official state journal on 18 November, and took effect the following day. Tamaulipas was the second-to-last Mexican state to legalize same-sex marriage.
Amid this backlash, one silver lining came in the various initiatives of LGBTIQ activists and their allies, who fought hard to win support for the Family Code. They also criticised the government's attempt at 'pinkwashing', saying that human rights are not subject to the majority's will and Parliament should have just approved a law on equal marriage.