Mariela Castro
Mariela Castro, daughter of Cuban President Raul Castro, will hold a “mass gay wedding” as part of the island country’s LGBT Pride celebration,s as a way to draw attention to the lack of legal protections for same-sex couples and transgender Cubans, according to Reuters.
Castro told Reuters, “We can’t do a wedding, but we wanted to have a very modest celebration of love with some religious leaders. In the future we’ll see what more we can do.”
CYPRUS
The cabinet of Cyprus has approved a “civil partnership bill” that allows same-sex couples to register their relationships with the government, granting all the same benefits of full marriage, except for “joint adoption.” The bill now heads to parliament, where the body can deliberate and put the legislation to a vote, according to Gay Star News.
COSTA RICA
Costa Rica’s Supreme Court ruled that all professional associations must treat same-sex spouses the same as they would treat opposite-sex couples. The ruling comes after a lawsuit was filed against the Costa Rican Doctors and Surgeons Association, which refused to extend membership benefits to the spouses of gay and lesbian members.
Gay Star News notes that earlier this week, President Luis Guillermo urged lawmakers in Costa Rica to pass a new bill that would extend civil unions to same-sex couples, saying that doing so is an “ethical and moral obligation” to the country.
