Cuban Voters Legalize Gay Marriage and Adoption
more than 79,000 community meetings between February and April to discuss some of the proposed changes, and amended some of its provisions based on community feedback, reports The Associated Press.Cuba’s National Assembly passed the revised code in July before sending it to the voters for final approval.While there are no independent observers of Cuban elections, Reuters reports that scattered local reports of district counts on social media appeared to align with official tallies. The approval of the code marks a significant shift with respect to both the government’s support for LGBTQ rights, and general attitudes towards homosexuality among Cubans.In the early 1960s, after former dictator Fidel Castro took power, many gay people were fired from their jobs and sent to labor camps known as Military Units to Aid Production, reports the Miami Herald.Although homosexuality was later legalized in 1979, many gay men and women reported experiencing discrimination in their daily lives.