Cuba’s New President Backs Same-Sex Marriage In First Interview Since Taking Office

Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel said in his first interview since taking office that he supports a proposed change to the constitution to allow same-sex marriage.

“I defend there being no kind of discrimination,” he said in an interview with the Venezuela-based television station Telesur aired on Sunday evening.

Diaz-Canel noted that it is up to the Cuban people to decide whether to include the change as the country drats a new constitution.

NBC News reports:

The document will replace Cuba’s Cold War-era constitution.

Diaz-Canel, 58, joins Cuban lawmaker Mariela Castro in support of legalizing gay marriage in the country. Mariela Castro is the daughter of Raul Castro — Diaz-Canel’s predecessor and the current leader of the Communist Party — and the niece of Fidel Castro.

Mariela Castro vowed to push for same-sex marriage to be included in the country’s constitutional reform process earlier this year.

She also called for tougher sanctions for anti-LGBTQ violence, according to Latin American news outlet Telesur.