经济学人523:同性婚姻 势不可挡

　　Gay marriage
同性婚姻
Be my rock in Little Rock
在小岩城成为我坚固的磐石
The gay-marriage juggernaut rolls on
同性婚姻势不可挡
WHAT do Arkansas and Idaho have in common? Both have rural charm—Idaho's licence plates even boast of its “Famous Potatoes”. Both vote Republican in presidential elections. And both have just legalised gay marriage.
美国阿肯色州和爱达荷州有什么相同之处？他们都拥有迷人的田园风光—爱达荷州的汽车牌照甚至还炫耀自己“有名的土豆”。他们都在总统大选中投了共和党人的票，而且都把同性婚姻合法化了。
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In both states, the decision was made by a judge rather than voters, and could be reversed. But it is getting harder to see same-sex nuptials¹ as an odd new custom confined to coastal² liberal bastions. If the new rules in Arkansas and Idaho stand, that would make it 19 states plus Washington, DC that now recognise marriage equality. Over 70 lawsuits³, in nearly every state that does not yet allow gay marriage, are working their way through the courts, encouraged by a Supreme-Court ruling last year striking down the federal Defence of Marriage Act.
在这两个州，这个决定都是由法官下的，而不是选举人，而且决定可以被撤销。现在同性恋婚姻已经越来越难以被认为仅仅是局限在沿海自由堡垒的风俗了。如果阿肯色州和爱达荷州的新条例成立的话，这将会使十九个州包括华盛顿承认婚姻平等。如今共有超过七十起分布在几乎所有尚未允许同性婚姻的州的法律诉讼正在通过法庭努力，它们受到了去年最高法院裁决的鼓励，该裁决驳回了“联邦婚姻保护法案”—一项禁止联邦政府承认同性婚姻的法案。
It has all happened faster than campaigners dared to hope. In Arkansas, a state constitutional amendment⁴ banning same-sex marriage passed ten years ago with 75% of the vote. Social conservatives were elated, expecting the law to stand indefinitely. But on May 9th Chris Piazza⁵, a circuit judge in Pulaski County, ruled the ban unconstitutional.
事情变化如此之快，而这甚至超过了同性婚姻呼吁者的预期。在阿肯色州，一个禁止同性婚姻的州宪法修正案于十年前获得75%的选票通过。社会保守派人士对此欢欣鼓舞，期待该法案无限期有效。但在5月9号一名普瓦斯基郡的巡回法官克里斯·皮亚萨裁决这个禁令违宪。
Religious conservatives were shocked. Mike Huckabee, an ex-governor of Arkansas, called for Judge Piazza to be impeached⁶. Jerry Cox, president of the Arkansas Family Council, said: “The marriage of one man to one woman has been a cornerstone of western civilisation⁷ for thousands of years... once people start redefining marriage, there seems to be no place to stop.”
宗教保守派都非常震惊。阿肯色州的一名前州政府官员麦克·赫卡比呼吁控告皮亚萨法官。阿肯色州家族委员会的主席杰里·考克斯说：“男人与女人之间的婚姻几千年来都是西方文明的基石…一旦人们开始重新给婚姻下定义，看起来就不会再停止了。”
Mr Piazza's ruling opened the door for all 75 counties in the state to issue marriage licences to gay couples. Most county clerks opted⁸ not to, noting that the ruling, confusingly, failed to address another state law that banned issuing such licences. But some 450 same-sex couples queued up in Pulaski and four other counties to get their precious pieces of paper. “We were hopeful that the law would be overturned some day, but we were completely stunned⁹...that it came when it did,” says Barbara Hall, who married her long-time partner on May 12th in the courthouse rotunda¹⁰. “We already had plans to marry in New York this summer after a ceremony here in Little Rock, never imagining a day when we could marry here.”
皮亚萨的裁决为该州75个郡打开了给同性情侣颁发婚姻许可证的大门。大部分郡书记官都选择了拒绝听从，指出该裁决令人困惑，未能处理其他禁止颁发此类婚姻许可证的州法律的问题。但有450对同性情侣在普瓦斯基和其它四个郡排队等候以获得那张宝贵的证书。“我们满怀希望，希望有一天州法律可以彻底改变，但是我们非常震惊…在这件事确实发生的时候，”芭芭拉·霍尔说，她于5月12号和她的长期伴侣在法院的圆形大厅中结婚了。“我们已经计划在小岩城的仪式之后就于今年夏天去纽约结婚，我们从未想过还能在这里结婚。”

1 nuptials   

n.婚礼；婚礼( nuptial的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Their nuptials were performed by the local priest. 他们的婚礼由当地牧师主持。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• If he married, when the nuptials would take place, and under what circumstances? 如果他结婚，那么什么时候举行婚礼？在什么情况下举行婚礼？ 来自辞典例句

2 coastal   

adj.海岸的，沿海的，沿岸的

参考例句：

• The ocean waves are slowly eating away the coastal rocks.大海的波浪慢慢地侵蚀着岸边的岩石。
• This country will fortify the coastal areas.该国将加强沿海地区的防御。

3 lawsuits   

n.诉讼( lawsuit的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Lawsuits involving property rights and farming and grazing rights increased markedly. 涉及财产权，耕作与放牧权的诉讼案件显著地增加。 来自辞典例句
• I've lost and won more lawsuits than any man in England. 全英国的人算我官司打得最多，赢的也多，输的也多。 来自辞典例句

4 amendment   

n.改正，修正，改善，修正案

参考例句：

• The amendment was rejected by 207 voters to 143.这项修正案以207票对143票被否决。
• The Opposition has tabled an amendment to the bill.反对党已经就该议案提交了一项修正条款。

5 piazza   

n.广场；走廊

参考例句：

• Siena's main piazza was one of the sights of Italy.锡耶纳的主要广场是意大利的名胜之一。
• They walked out of the cafeteria,and across the piazzadj.他们走出自助餐厅,穿过广场。

6 impeached   

v.控告（某人）犯罪( impeach的过去式和过去分词 )；弹劾；对（某事物）怀疑；提出异议

参考例句：

• Elected officials can be impeached. 经过选举产生的官员可以被弹劾。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The judge was impeached for taking a bribe. 这个法官被检举接受贿赂。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

7 civilisation   

n.文明，文化，开化，教化

参考例句：

• Energy and ideas are the twin bases of our civilisation.能源和思想是我们文明的两大基石。
• This opera is one of the cultural totems of Western civilisation.这部歌剧是西方文明的文化标志物之一。

8 opted   

v.选择，挑选( opt的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She was co-opted onto the board. 她获增选为董事会成员。
• After graduating she opted for a career in music. 毕业后她选择了从事音乐工作。

9 stunned   

adj. 震惊的，惊讶的 动词stun的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• The fall stunned me for a moment. 那一下摔得我昏迷了片刻。
• The leaders of the Kopper Company were then stunned speechless. 科伯公司的领导们当时被惊得目瞪口呆。

10 rotunda   

n.圆形建筑物；圆厅

参考例句：

• The Capitol at Washington has a large rotunda.华盛顿的国会大厦有一圆形大厅。
• The rotunda was almost deserted today,dotted with just a few tourists.圆形大厅今天几乎没有多少人，只零星散布着几个游客。