Displaying items by tag: constitution
Cuba: same-sex marriage
Cuba’s national assembly is considering changes to the 1976 constitution. A draft new constitution recognises private property and opens the door to same-sex marriage. In July five evangelical churches in Cuba spoke out their opposition to same-sex marriage because the ideology of gender is totally foreign to Cuban culture or ‘the historic leaders of the Revolution.’ They explained their position in a statement posted on social networks. The five denominations do not belong to the government-approved Cuban Council of Churches. Evangelical churches in Cuba have experienced rapid growth since the government's religious opening up in the 1990s. They now have hundreds of ‘home temples’ spread around the island. See:
Hungary: proposal to end homelessness
MP Istvan Bajkai hopes homelessness will become a thing of the past if his proposed law is taken on by the government. Bajkai previously worked as prime minister Viktor Orban’s lawyer. He wants to amend the constitution to ban homeless people from living and sleeping in public spaces. He said sleeping rough shouldn’t be necessary as everyone without a home is guaranteed shelter. Support services, day centres, and night-time accommodation, are widely available. But according to a local NGO, there are 11,000 places available in temporary accommodation for 30,000 people sleeping rough. Critics say many shelters are unsuitable and lack security, and banning the homeless from public spaces would be impossible to enforce. The director of Shelter Foundation said that to solve homelessness, Orban’s government should support the development of cheap rentals in cities or offer financial support to those who cannot afford to live in them.