美国国家公共电台 NPR Romanian Referendum To Ban Same-Sex Marriage Fails

 

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

All right. In Romania, an effort to ban same-sex marriage has failed. This was a two day referendum that would've changed the constitution in this socially conservative country in the European Union. But not enough voters showed up over the weekend, and that invalidated any result. This is a slap in the face for the Romanian Orthodox Church, which has warned that Western liberals in the EU are forcing their values on the East. Here's Joanna Kakissis from Bucharest.

(SOUNDBITE OF CHURCH BELLS RINGING)

JOANNA KAKISSIS, BYLINE¹: Like many churchgoers in this post-communist city, retired² engineer Marius Tufis opposes same-sex marriage.

MARIUS TUFIS: I don't like man with man and woman with woman.

KAKISSIS: It's not enough for him that same-sex marriage is already banned in Romania's civil code.

TUFIS: (Speaking Romanian).

KAKISSIS: "That code can be changed," he says, "so we need something more."

Leaders of the Romanian Orthodox Church told voters that defining marriage as between a man and a woman means saving the traditional Romanian family. Archdeacon Ionut Mavrichi says it's about children.

IONUT MAVRICHI: And I think every child has the right to be raised and born in a family, like, from a mother and a father, like all the children that have ever been born.

KAKISSIS: The church strongly backed an amendment³ to Romania's Constitution. It was pushed by conservative activists⁴ who were advised by Liberty Counsel, a U.S. organization which opposes same-sex marriage.

VLAD VISKI: They're behind all these movements in Eastern Europe.

KAKISSIS: Vlad Viski runs MozaiQ, an LGBT-rights group in Bucharest.

VISKI: What we're witnessing is this sort of alliance between these extremist American groups and local indigenous⁵ conservative groups trying to push forward their agenda.

KAKISSIS: Twenty-year-old Alina Ercau danced with friends at a boycott⁶ party in a Bucharest club before the vote.

ALINA ERCAU: I came here because I'm a lesbian, as a matter of fact. And I don't think that we should be perceived as people that are plaguing our society. They think that we are some sort of degenerates⁷, that we are sick. They are trying to legalize homophobia in Romania.

KAKISSIS: Communications consultant⁸ Dragos Bucurenci is bisexual. He has noticed a rise in homophobia in the weeks before the vote.

DRAGOS BUCURENCI: Ever since this started, whoever expressed any views that were pro-LGBT was fair game for haters.

(Speaking Romanian).

KAKISSIS: He spent Sunday walking his dog Oscar at the park near Bucharest's opera house.

BUCURENCI: If this referendum doesn't pass, I will remember this day as the second-most important day in my life after 22 December 1989, when the communist regime fell.

KAKISSIS: Romania did not decriminalize homosexuality until 2001 and only then because it was a precondition for entering the European Union. Marius Tufis, the retired engineer, blames the EU for pushing liberal values on his country.

TUFIS: (Speaking Romanian).

KAKISSIS: "My daughter lives in the Netherlands now," he says, "and we fight every day over same-sex marriage."

Across town, a gay club broke out in cheers when the TV news declared the marriage referendum dead because of low turnout.

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: (Singing) Come on and sing it to me, yeah.

KAKISSIS: Same-sex marriage in Romania is still illegal. But tonight, there was no change to the constitution. For NPR News, I'm Joanna Kakissis in Bucharest, Romania.

1 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

2 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

3 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。

4 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 indigenous   

adj.土产的，土生土长的，本地的

参考例句：

• Each country has its own indigenous cultural tradition.每个国家都有自己本土的文化传统。
• Indians were the indigenous inhabitants of America.印第安人是美洲的土著居民。

6 boycott   

n./v.(联合)抵制，拒绝参与

参考例句：

• We put the production under a boycott.我们联合抵制该商品。
• The boycott lasts a year until the Victoria board permitsreturn.这个抗争持续了一年直到维多利亚教育局妥协为止。

7 degenerates   

衰退，堕落，退化( degenerate的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Liberty often degenerates into lawlessness. 自由常常变质为无法无天。
• Her health degenerates rapidly. 她的健康状况迅速恶化。

8 consultant   

n.顾问；会诊医师，专科医生

参考例句：

• He is a consultant on law affairs to the mayor.他是市长的一个法律顾问。
• Originally,Gar had agreed to come up as a consultant.原来，加尔只答应来充当我们的顾问。