Same-sex marriage in Cuba

Same-sex marriage has been legal in Cuba since September 27, 2022. This happened after a vote where most people chose to allow it. Before this, the rules in Cuba did not let same-sex couples marry, but they changed those rules in 2019.

In May 2019, leaders in Cuba said they wanted to make same-sex marriage allowed. Later, in 2021, they made a new set of family rules that let same-sex couples marry and adopt children. Many people got to share their thoughts about these rules. After that, the rules were voted on again and approved.

Cuba was the first country in the Caribbean to let same-sex marriage. It was also the first communist state to do this, and it was the fourth country in North America, the eighth in Latin America, and the 32nd country in the whole world to allow it.

Civil unions

In 2007, Cuba talked about a new law for civil unions. A person named Mariela Castro supported this idea, but the law was never voted on.

In 2022, Cuba voted on new family rules. These rules included ways for couples to have civil unions. Civil unions are special agreements for people who want to live together but are not married.

Same-sex marriage

Attempts to repeal constitutional ban

The Constitution of Cuba once said marriage was only between a man and a woman. In 2017, groups supporting equal rights started a campaign to change this. In 2018, a leader named Mariela Castro said she would suggest changing the Constitution to allow marriages for any two people. Later that year, a top official said the new Constitution would talk about marriage as a union between two people, not specifying genders. The new Constitution was approved by voters in February 2019 and became law in April 2019. It described marriage as a social and legal institution without mentioning genders.

Changes to the Family Code

Before September 2022, Cuba’s Family Code only allowed marriages between a man and a woman. In 2019, the government started talking about changing the Family Code to allow marriages for any two people. A draft of the new code was presented in 2021 and approved by Cuba’s government in December 2021. After public discussions, the code was approved by voters in a referendum on September 25, 2022. President Miguel Díaz-Canel signed it into law on September 26, 2022, and it took effect the next day. The first legal same-sex marriage in Cuba happened on October 5, 2022, in Manzanillo.

Statistics

In the first month after same-sex marriage became legal, 75 such marriages took place. By March 2023, 513 same-sex couples had married. In 2024, 955 same-sex marriages happened in Cuba. Most of these marriages happened in La Habana Province, followed by other areas.

Religious performance

Some religious groups have different views on same-sex marriage. In 2019, a church in Matanzas held what is believed to be the first church wedding for a same-sex couple in Cuba, though it was not legally recognized at the time. Some Christian groups and the Catholic Church have spoken against same-sex marriage, saying it goes against their beliefs. However, some religious communities have been more supportive of equal rights for everyone.

Public opinion

In 2019, a survey asked people in Cuba about marrying people of the same sex. About 63% said yes, and 37% said no.