VOA慢速英语2014 美国同性婚姻权利或长足进步

 

Same-Sex Marriage Rights Advance in the US 美国同性婚姻权利或长足进步

This week the Supreme¹ Court acted in one of America’s most debated issues by doing almost nothing. The justices decided² not to examine lower court rulings that permit same-sex marriage in the states of Virginia, Indiana, Wisconsin, Oklahoma and Utah.

Same-sex marriages are legal in a majority of U.S. states and the District of Columbia. Internationally, 19 countries legally recognize same-sex marriage.

Reaction in Virginia

In the U.S. state of Virginia, Attorney General Mark Herring commented shortly after the Supreme Court announced its decision Monday. Mr. Herring tweeted that marriage equality is in effect in the state. The announcement led those who had been waiting for the chance to take action. Some went immediately to their courthouse to request marriage licenses³.

Matthew Tosiello is a 38-year-old teacher at an elementary school in Arlington, Virginia. He proposed marriage to his same-sex partner on Monday night. His partner accepted. Later, Mr. Tosiello posted a photo of the proposal, written on paper, to his friends on Facebook.

He has had over 200 likes and nothing but happy reactions from his friends and family.

"Personally I'm just happy to be able to have the right to do it, and I look forward to doing so. [Two years ago] I had emergency surgery for an appendix that was about to burst. We spent a lot of money to do medical powers of attorney and things like that. We're not going to have to have that conversation [in the future]. It's definitely going to have a big impact on our lives, but it's those, you know, very important yet mundane⁴ details. Happy as I am, I -- in some ways I really wish the Supreme Court would have made a very definitive⁵ statement by settling this issue once and for all."

Possible future Supreme Court ruling

A White House spokesman on Monday said most Americans believe same sex couples deserve fair treatment under the law. The spokesman made the comment after the Supreme Court ruled, but he did not note the decision. The spokesman said U.S. President Barack Obama believes it should be legal for same sex couples to marry.

Indeed, many legal experts expect the Supreme Court to rule one day on whether gay people should have the right to marry in all U.S. states. However, officials in some states say the Constitution does not give the federal government the power to decide how states define marriage. The officials say no legal tradition supports a right to gay marriage.

Words in this Story

appeal - n. a process in which a decision is studied and accepted or rejected by a higher court or by someone in authority (an appeals court is the court where this process takes place)

definitive - adj. not able to be argued about or changed: final and settled

legal - adj. of or relating to the law; based on the law

ruling - n. an official decision made by a judge

1 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。

2 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

3 licenses   

n.执照( license的名词复数 )v.批准，许可，颁发执照( license的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Drivers have ten days' grace to renew their licenses. 驾驶员更换执照有10天的宽限期。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Jewish firms couldn't get import or export licenses or raw materials. 犹太人的企业得不到进出口许可证或原料。 来自辞典例句

4 mundane   

adj.平凡的；尘世的；宇宙的

参考例句：

• I hope I can get an interesting job and not something mundane.我希望我可以得到的是一份有趣的工作，而不是一份平凡无奇的。
• I find it humorous sometimes that even the most mundane occurrences can have an impact on our awareness.我发现生活有时挺诙谐的，即使是最平凡的事情也能影响我们的感知。

5 definitive   

adj.确切的，权威性的；最后的，决定性的

参考例句：

• This book is the definitive guide to world cuisine.这本书是世界美食的权威指南。
• No one has come up with a definitive answer as to why this should be so.至于为什么该这样，还没有人给出明确的答复。