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Cuba Nearly Opened the Door for Marriage Equality

But the nation's new constitution leaves the future of marriage equality uncertain.

The newest draft of Cuba's constitution came close to giving language about marriage equality an inclusive update, but pushback from religious conservatives forced government officials to abandon the plan.

Previously, LGBTQ rights advocates in Cuba proposed revising the description of marriage as specifically between a man and a woman. Instead, it would be defined as a union between "two people” with “absolutely equal rights and obligations."

But the proposed change angered Cuba's evangelical population—and sparked widespread outrage and protests, according to the Associated Press.

Yesterday, Cuba's National Assembly announced via Twitter that the commission responsible for drafting the new constitution would be eliminating the proposed update; instead, it would omit a definition of marriage entirely "as a way of respecting all opinions."

The aforementioned commission is headed by Raúl Castro, brother of Fidel Castro, whose daughter, Mariela Castro, is a lawmaker—and the longtime face of Cuba's push for LGBTQ equality. And while this change hasn't explicitly permitted or prohibited equal marriage in Cuba, the omission has left the door open for future legislation on the topic.

Francisco Rodriguez, a Communist Party member and gay blogger from Cuba, told AP that the final decision was a "side-step" designed to placate both parties.

"It’s a solution," he added. "Not ‘between a man and a woman’ or ‘between two people.’ Now is when it all begins.”

Prospects haven't always looked so hopeful for queer Cubans: Until 1993, Fidel, the famed revolutionary-turned-dictator, ordered that people with HIV/AIDS be quarantined in state-run sanitariums. By the mid-'90s, the late Cuban leader had publicly denounced anti-LGBTQ policies; however, activists say targeted police raids and violence against Cuba's queer community continued (and continues) to go unchecked.

Fidel died at the age of 90 in 2016; Raúl succeeded him, and the nation's current president, Miguel Díaz-Canel, assumed office this April.

The new constitution is expected to be presented for public approval in the new year.

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