Responding to public pressure, Cuba's
government has removed a constitutional change that would have opened
the door to same-sex marriage.
In July, Cuba's National Assembly
approved a draft constitution that described marriage as “a
consensual union between two people.” The current constitution,
written in 1976, defines marriage as “between a man and a woman.”
Citizens will vote on the new constitution next year.
Lawmakers on Tuesday announced on
Twitter that the constitution would instead be silent on the issue.
Evangelical churches in Cuba launched a
campaign against the marriage amendment, known as Article 68. Cuba
does not officially recognize LGBT activists, making them unable to
launch their own campaigns in favor of the amendment.
According to The
Guardian, Cuban citizens had made more than 192,000 comments
on Article 68, with the majority opposed.
Reuters noted that the campaign in a
country that once jailed religious people, as it did gays, has
surprised many people.
Government officials said Tuesday that
a separate public vote on marriage equality would be held within the
next two years.