VOA标准英语2015--Pentagon Bars Discrimination Against Gays, Lesbians in Uniform

Pentagon Bars Discrimination Against Gays, Lesbians in Uniform

Defense¹ Secretary Ash Carter on Tuesday unveiled an updated equal opportunity policy to bar discrimination based on sexual orientation² in the armed forces, putting it in the same category as discrimination based on race, religion, color, age and sex.

The watershed³ moment came as Carter delivered a keynote speech at the Pentagon marking a gay and lesbian pride celebration.

“Four years after the repeal⁴ of ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,’ following years and years of gay and lesbian service members having to hide who they are, today we take pride in how they’re free to serve their country openly,” he said.

The change in policy gives U.S. military troops a broader range of choices in pursuing complaints if they believe they have been discriminated⁵ against based on sexual orientation.

The change brought the rules into conformity⁶ with the 2011 decision to end the military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy — adopted by the Clinton Administration in 1994 — which allowed gays and lesbians to serve in the military only if they did not openly acknowledge their sexual orientation.

Times, though, have changed.

“Here at the Pentagon, we have been — and remain — strongly committed to making sure all our military families and spouses⁷ can fully⁸ and equally receive the benefits their loved ones have earned,” Carter said in announcing the decision.

The move comes on the heels of an announcement Monday by the American Medical Association that there is no medically valid⁹ reason to exclude transgendered personnel from military service. While some branches of the military can still remove transgendered service members, the Army and Air Force have already made it more difficult to do so, which is ultimately more in line with the ever-changing climate of tolerance¹⁰ in the United States.

“Young Americans today are more diverse, open and tolerant than past generations, and if we’re going to attract the best and brightest among them to contribute to our mission of national defense, we have to ourselves be more open, diverse and tolerant, too," Carter said. "It’s the only way to compete in the 21st century.

"We have to focus relentlessly¹¹ on our mission, which means the thing that matters most about a person is what they can contribute to national defense," he added. "This is a commitment we must continually renew."

Civilian¹² employees of the Defense Department were already protected against discrimination based on sexual orientation under equal opportunity laws. But uniformed personnel were covered under separate rules affected¹³ by the department's long-time ban on gays and lesbians serving openly in the military.

A 2013 Supreme¹⁴ Court ruling provided some federal benefits to same-sex couples married in states where gay marriage is legal. The Pentagon has been working to bring its policies into line with the changes.

"With this policy revision, we are now ensuring that service members are afforded protection against discrimination in the Department's military equal opportunity program," said Navy Lieutenant¹⁵ Commander Nate Christensen, a Pentagon spokesman.

Christensen said the military equal opportunity program gives troops greater access to a broader range of options for resolving discrimination complaints and gives commanders access to equal opportunity advisers¹⁶ during the complaint process.

Groups advocating lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered (LGBT) rights groups have long called for equal protection from discrimination. June is LGBT Pride Month.

1 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

2 orientation   

n.方向，目标；熟悉，适应，情况介绍

参考例句：

• Children need some orientation when they go to school.小孩子上学时需要适应。
• The traveller found his orientation with the aid of a good map.旅行者借助一幅好地图得知自己的方向。

3 watershed   

n.转折点，分水岭，分界线

参考例句：

• Our marriage was at a watershed.我们的婚姻到了一个转折关头。
• It forms the watershed between the two rivers.它成了两条河流的分水岭。

4 repeal   

n.废止，撤消；v.废止，撤消

参考例句：

• He plans to repeal a number of current policies.他计划废除一些当前的政策。
• He has made out a strong case for the repeal of the law.他提出强有力的理由，赞成废除该法令。

5 discriminated   

分别，辨别，区分( discriminate的过去式和过去分词 )； 歧视，有差别地对待

参考例句：

• His great size discriminated him from his followers. 他的宽广身材使他不同于他的部下。
• Should be a person that has second liver virus discriminated against? 一个患有乙肝病毒的人是不是就应该被人歧视？

6 conformity   

n.一致，遵从，顺从

参考例句：

• Was his action in conformity with the law?他的行动是否合法？
• The plan was made in conformity with his views.计划仍按他的意见制定。

7 spouses   

n.配偶，夫或妻( spouse的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Jobs are available for spouses on campus and in the community. 校园里和社区里有配偶可做的工作。 来自辞典例句
• An astonishing number of spouses-most particularly in the upper-income brackets-have no close notion of their husbands'paychecks. 相当大一部分妇女——特别在高收入阶层——并不很了解他们丈夫的薪金。 来自辞典例句

8 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

9 valid   

adj.有确实根据的；有效的；正当的，合法的

参考例句：

• His claim to own the house is valid.他主张对此屋的所有权有效。
• Do you have valid reasons for your absence?你的缺席有正当理由吗？

10 tolerance   

n.宽容；容忍，忍受；耐药力；公差

参考例句：

• Tolerance is one of his strengths.宽容是他的一个优点。
• Human beings have limited tolerance of noise.人类对噪音的忍耐力有限。

11 relentlessly   

adv.不屈不挠地；残酷地；不间断

参考例句：

• The African sun beat relentlessly down on his aching head. 非洲的太阳无情地照射在他那发痛的头上。
• He pursued her relentlessly, refusing to take 'no' for an answer. 他锲而不舍地追求她，拒不接受“不”的回答。

12 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

13 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

14 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

15 lieutenant   

n.陆军中尉，海军上尉；代理官员，副职官员

参考例句：

• He was promoted to be a lieutenant in the army.他被提升为陆军中尉。
• He prevailed on the lieutenant to send in a short note.他说动那个副官，递上了一张简短的便条进去。

16 advisers   

顾问，劝告者( adviser的名词复数 )； （指导大学新生学科问题等的）指导教授

参考例句：

• a member of the President's favoured circle of advisers 总统宠爱的顾问班子中的一员
• She withdrew to confer with her advisers before announcing a decision. 她先去请教顾问然后再宣布决定。