Beautiful Virgin Islands

Sunday, Oct 05, 2025

Cuba divided over law to allow same-sex marriage

Cuba divided over law to allow same-sex marriage

Adiel and Lachi are anxious to get married, perhaps dressed in black, in a ceremony by the seashore.
The idea bothers the Reverend Moises de Prada, who like many of his parishioners opposes a proposal to legalise same-sex marriage in Cuba.

The socialist government recently published a draft Family Law and asked for public comment ahead of a referendum, creating an unusually public clash over policy on the island where Pentecostal churches have been growing.

For Adiel González, a 31-year-old theologian, the idea of submitting his right to marriage for a public referendum is painful.

"You are submitting to the vote of a heterosexual, heteronormative majority the rights of a minority," he said from his apartment in the central city of Matanzas, where two cats roam and a cross in the rainbow colours of the gay flag hangs from a wall.

Both he and his partner, 51-year-old accountant Lázaro "Lachi" González, work at the relatively mainline Evangelical Theological Seminary in Matanzas.

"God has no stepchildren, so we are all daughters and sons of God and what Adiel and I do it have a life with love," Lázaro González said.

The proposed law, which is to be considered by Parliament after the still unscheduled referendum, has more than 480 articles. It would also formally expand grandparents' rights, allow for prenuptial agreements and — in cases of divorce — have financial consequences for those who have committed gender violence.

Parents could decide whether children's paternal or maternal surname has precedence. Children's rights would be gradually expanded as they grow.

But the biggest controversy is over changing the definition of marriage in the current law, which specifies it is between a man and a woman, to merely say between two people.

It would also open the way for gays to adopt, and for surrogate pregnancies — though not for payment.

"It is not going to bring any benefit," said de Prada, general superintendent of the Assemblies of God, which have grown rapidly and Cuba and now claim more than 2,000 churches and 1 million members.

"The family, conceived as it is structured in the word of God, is that which is agreed between a man and a woman and the resulting children," he said.

While Cuba was officially — and often militantly — atheist for decades after the 1959 revolution led by Fidel Castro, it has become more tolerant of religions over the past quarter century. That has meant a greater opening not only the once-dominant Roman Catholic Church, but also to Afro-Cuban religions, protestants and Muslims.

Some of those churches took advantage of the opening in 2018 and 2019 to campaign against another plebiscite which would have rewritten the constitution in a way to allow gay marriage.

Opposition from social conservatives was strong enough that the government at that time backed away, though the change was backed by lawmaker Mariela Castro, daughter of then-President Raul Castro and director of Cuba's Center for Sexual Education.

Justice Minister Oscar Silveira Martínez told The Associated Press that the new proposed law "does not construct social realities; it tries to foresee legal solutions, protect those social realities that exist."

Assemblies of God General Secretary Julio César Sánchez said such unions would be "the result of sin."

"The argument that they should be regularised because they exist is not valid," he said, "because murder also exists. ... That doesn't mean it's good."

The differences play out in the streets as well.

"There are people who are going to be against same-sex couples joining in matrimony, but I think that's something normal," said Alberto Dausá, a 68-year-old retiree.

A few feet away, Carola Reyna, a 25-year-old housewife, said she wasn't against gay couples being happy, "but it seems to me that (adopting) children, they shouldn't get involved in that."
Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Jeff Bezos Calls AI Surge a ‘Good’ Bubble, Urges Focus on Lasting Innovation
Japan’s Ruling Party Chooses Sanae Takaichi, Clearing Path to First Female Prime Minister
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sentenced to Fifty Months in Prison Following Prostitution Conviction
Taylor Swift’s ‘Showgirl’ Launch Extends Billion-Dollar Empire
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
FBI Removes Agents Who Kneeled at 2020 Protest, Citing Breach of Professional Conduct
Trump Alleges ‘Triple Sabotage’ at United Nations After Escalator and Teleprompter Failures
Shock in France: 5 Years in Prison for Former President Nicolas Sarkozy
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
BNP Paribas Abandons Ban on 'Controversial Weapons' Financing Amid Europe’s Defence Push
Typhoon Ragasa Leaves Trail of Destruction Across East Asia Before Making Landfall in China
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Big Banks Rebuild in Hong Kong as Deal Volume Surges
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Arnault Denounces Proposed Wealth Tax as Threat to French Economy
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Denmark Investigates Drone Incursion, Does Not Rule Out Russian Involvement
Lilly CEO Warns UK Is ‘Worst Country in Europe’ for Drug Prices, Pulls Back Investment
Nigel Farage Emerges as Central Force in British Politics with Reform UK Surge
Disney Reinstates ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ after Six-Day Suspension over Charlie Kirk Comments
U.S. Prosecutors Move to Break Up Google’s Advertising Monopoly
Nvidia Pledges Up to $100 Billion Investment in OpenAI to Power Massive AI Data Center Build-Out
U.S. Signals ‘Large and Forceful’ Support for Argentina Amid Market Turmoil
Nvidia and Abu Dhabi’s TII Launch First AI-&-Robotics Lab in the Middle East
Vietnam Faces Up to $25 Billion Export Loss as U.S. Tariffs Bite
Europe Signals Stronger Support for Taiwan at Major Taipei Defence Show
×