Cubans Approve Same-Sex Marriage, Surrogacy In Referendum

Cubans approved gay marriage and adoption overwhelmingly in a Sunday referendum backed by the government that also boosted rights for women, the national election commission said on Monday.

Cuba voted to legalize same-sex marriage in a national referendum.

About two-thirds of the population voted to approve reforms to the new family law, which would also allow surrogacy and give gay couples the right to adopt children.

It's a big moment for Cuba,

which saw gays persecuted and sent to labor camps in the 1960s and 1970s.

However, there was significant opposition to the reforms among religious groups and conservatives.

Sunday's referendum was on the new family law - a 100-page document that went through more than two dozen drafts and hours of debate at community-wide meetings.

The Cuban government supported the law change and launched a nationwide campaign urging people to agree to it.

Speaking during his vote on Sunday, the country's president, Miguel Diaz-Canel, said he expects most residents to vote yes and that the new law reflects the diversity of people, families and beliefs.

The preliminary results, Monday, indicated an "irreversible trend", with 66% of the votes counted so far in favor of the reform,

Electoral Council President Alina Balsero said on state television, according to Agence France-Presse. The law requires 50% approval from voters.

The reforms were the culmination of the efforts of gay rights activists in Cuba.

Official attitudes toward homosexuality on the communist-run island have changed over the past decades,

Partly thanks to the efforts of Mariela, daughter of former leader Raul Castro.

In the first part of communist leader Fidel Castro's rule after the 1959 revolution, gay men and women were sent to labor camps for supposed "re-education".

However, many in Cuba still oppose the move, including evangelical and other non-churchs.

Religious conservatives.

Parts of the opposition also campaigned for a "no" vote, urging Cubans to seize a unique opportunity to give the country's communist government a defeat in the elections.

Opening of the first LGBTQ hotel in Cuba

some counter

Government activists view the referendum as an attempt by the state to improve its human rights image after a brutal crackdown on all forms of dissent in recent years.

The referendum also comes during a serious energy crisis, which has led to daily blackouts affecting millions of people across the island.

BY
ProBuzzFeed