『伴随着同性恋婚姻正式写入法案，纽约成为了美国又一个承认同性恋婚姻合法的州。』

Gay marriage

New York says "I do"

纽约承认同性婚姻合法

June 27th 2011 | from The Economist

TIMING  is everything. Forty-two years, almost to the day, after the Stonewall riots ; some 36 hours before the gay-pride  march; and two years after a failed attempt, New York became the sixth and most populous  state to legalise  same-sex marriage. Late Friday night New York"s senate  passed the Marriage Equality bill by a 33-29 vote. New York's governor, Andrew Cuomo, who made gay marriage a top priority of his first term , signed it into law at 11:55 pm. It will go into effect on July 24th.

The Senate is Republican-controlled, and the bill passed when four Republicans joined the 29 Democrats who supported it. One, Mark Grisanti of Buffalo, opposed gay marriage for religious reasons, but could not justify denying equal rights to gay couples. Roy McDonald, another Republican from upstate New York , told reporters on June 16th that he was going to support same-sex marriage, and that everything is not black and white or good and bad.

For months, Mr Cuomo cajoled, pressured, leaned on and in recent weeks enthusiastically negotiated with legislators to get the bill passed.  He worked closely with gay-rights groups who spent millions on the advocacy campaign. Commercials featuring athletes, politicians and celebrities advocating support for the bill flooded the airwaves.  The most effective were the ones starring  regular New Yorkers with gay relatives: the parents who wanted their son to marry his long-time partner, a second-world-war veteran who wants to see his grandson marry whomever he wants.

The 2m energetic onlookers  at Sunday’s gay-pride march down Fifth Avenue hugged, hollered , danced and cheered. One onlooker observed, “This year has more energy than other years.”  Loud cheers were directed at an elderly gay couple, sitting in a rickshaw , celebrating 54 years together. The noise went up several decibels  when New York’s police department’s marching band played “Here Comes the Bride”.  The loudest cheers were reserved for Mr Cuomo who was accompanied by Michael Bloomberg, New York’s mayor, who waved a rainbow flag, and by Christine Quinn, the openly gay New York City Council Speaker. Hundreds of marchers carried signs that read “Promise Kept” on one side and “Thank you Governor Cuomo” on the other.

In 2009, the last time the bill was sent to Albany, it was rejected soundly. Not a single Republican supported it and eight Democrats voted no. One noted that 73% of his constituents were opposed to gay marriage in 2009, but this year 80% supported it. Recent polls  show that nearly 60% of New Yorkers are in favour of same-sex marriage. Nationally, the number supporting marriage equality hovers around  50%, but polls also show that a majority of younger voters support it. Success in New York will undoubtedly help give advocates a boost in Oregon, Maine, Washington and Maryland, all of which are considering similar measures.

Essential to New York’s passage were measures exempting religious organisations from having to participate in same-sex marriages and protecting them from discrimination lawsuits.  Still, this did not satisfy Catholic leaders. Nicolas DiMarzio, bishop of Queens and Brooklyn, said that “Governor Cuomo has opened a new front in the culture wars that are tearing at the fabric of our nation .” He also called on  Catholic schools and parishes to ban gay-marriage supporters from speaking at their events.

Catholic churches will probably remain gay-wedding free for some time, but marriages at restaurants, hotels and catering halls are likely to begin later this summer. And, according to a 2009 report by the New York City comptroller, gay marriages could generate up to $210m for the state's economy over three years. (655 words)

文章地址：http://www.economist.com/blogs/democracyinamerica/2011/06/gay-marriage

timing /taImIN/ n. 时间的选择（或安排）；时机的掌握
Stonewall Riot: 石墙骚乱，1969年发生于美国纽约州石墙酒吧，是美国历史上同性恋首次反对政府歧视，以争取同性恋合法权益的运动。
gay-pride：同性恋在获得社会认可后所表现出的强烈的自尊心。
populous /5pCpjUlEs/ adj. 人口多的；人口稠密的
legalise / 5li:gElaIz/ v. 使合法化
senate /5senIt/ n. 参议员
term /t:m/ n. 任期
upstate New York: 纽约州北部地区。
数月以来，库默州长为使该法案通过，不惜对立法官员采取哄骗、施压、威胁等手段，最近几个星期更是不辞劳苦地与他们进行谈判。cajole意为“劝诱；哄骗”，pressure此处用作动词，意为“给予……压力以胁迫其做……”，legislator意为“立法者；立法官”。
报道运动员、政治家以及社会名流支持法案通过的广告充斥着各大媒介。commercial意为“广告”，feature作动词，意为“报道；特写”，flood也是动词，意为“充斥；淹没”，airwave意为“电视；广播”
star /stB:(r)/ v. 使某人担任主角；由某人主演。
onlooker /5CnlUkE(r)/ n. 旁观者
holler /5hClE(r)/ v. 喊出（某事物）；叫喊
rickshaw /5rIkFR:/ n. 人力三轮车
decibel /5desIbel/ n. 分贝
poll /pEUl/ n. 民意测试；选举投票
hover around: 接近某一水平；保持某一水平

纽约通过承认同性恋合法法案的关键措施在于：他们没有强迫宗教组织参与到同性婚姻中来，并保护他们不受到歧视同性婚姻的控诉。exempt…from…意为“使某人（某事物）免除或豁免”。

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