Cuba legalizes equal marriage in a historic referendum

(CNN) — Cuba legalized same-sex marriage after Cubans voted in favor of a family code that increases the protection of minorities on the island, the country’s National Electoral Council announced Monday.

The body said 74.1% of those eligible to vote in Sunday’s national referendum had turned out to vote. With 94% of the votes counted as of 9 am on Monday, 3,936,790 had voted in favor and 1,950,090 against, which is overwhelming support for the new law.

The new family code expands protections for women, children and the elderly, and allows LGBTQ couples to marry and adopt children.

For decades, LGBTQ people in Cuba faced official discrimination on the communist-ruled island.

In the early 1960s, after Fidel Castro came to power, many homosexuals were sent to government labor camps along with political dissidents.

What is the new family code

Last July, the National Assembly of Cuba approved the Family Code, a legislative package that was submitted to a referendum this Sunday and that, among other things, opens the door to same-sex marriage on the island.

The Family Code seeks to “protect vulnerable sectors of society” and paves the way for same-sex marriage and an end to other family-related discrimination.

The referendum also establishes protections for children, the elderly, foster parents and women’s rights.