经济学人:英国同性婚姻合法化 卡梅伦"爱不应被法律分开"

 　　Gay marriage

　　同性婚姻合法化

　　Ties that divide

　　备受争议

　　A row over plans to let gay couples marry in church

　　同性伴侣可在教堂举行婚礼这一法案争议不断

　　Pity the prime minister. With most news bleakly¹ austere² these days, changing the law to let gay couples marry must have seemed a sure way to spread crowd-pleasing sweetness and light. Countries around the world are giving homosexuals full marriage rights. More than half of British respondents usually tell pollsters they favour gay marriage. Besides, David Cameron truly believes in it, as he told the Conservative Party conference in October 2011.

　　英国最近都没有什么好消息。可怜了首相卡梅隆，但修改法律允许同性伴侣结婚似乎让民众心里一暖。很多国家都在逐步给予同性恋完全婚姻权。民意调查显示，英国超过一半的受访者都支持同性婚姻合法化。此外，在2011年10月的保守党大会上戴维·卡梅隆（David Cameron）也表示他本人是完全赞同同性婚姻合法化。

　　But government plans to let same-sex couples not only marry but marry in church, detailed³ on December 11th, have startled the ecclesiastical horses and divided the already fissiparous Conservatives. The Anglican and Catholic churches, along with the Muslim Council of Britain and Lord Sacks, the Chief Rabbi, oppose the move, which contravenes⁴ their belief that marriage is between a woman and a man. High-profile Tories including Michael Gove, the education secretary, and Boris Johnson, London’s mayor, are for the change, but over 100 Conservative MPs are believed to oppose it. That will not put the outcome in doubt, as Labour and the Liberal Democrats⁵ support the shift, but it guarantees a continuing row.

　　12月11日，英政府公布了详细条例——不仅允许同性伴侣结婚，也可在教堂举行婚礼。这让教会的那些老匹夫大吃一惊，使已出现分歧的保守党更是争论不断。圣公会和天主教，以及英国穆斯林协会和首席拉比萨克斯勋爵（Lord Sacks）都反对这项提议，因为这和他们一男一女才能结婚的信仰相否。几名高调的保守党人，包括教育大臣迈克尔·戈夫（Michael Gove）和伦敦市长鲍里斯·约翰逊（Boris Johnson），赞成此提议，估计过百的国会议员将会反对。由于工党和自由民主党都支持这项提议，所以这些反对者对结果没有什么影响，但不可避免的会引起不断的争论。

　　At issue is how to balance competing rights—to freedom of religious expression and freedom from discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation⁶. This clash last hit the headlines in 2007, when a Catholic adoption⁷ agency was required to consider gay couples as adoptive parents, and the religiously minded owners of a small hotel were told they could not refuse to rent a double bedroom to a gay couple. This time, the dispute is over core religious activities, not charitable or commercial services. But once same-sex marriages are permitted, and on religious premises⁸ at that, some fear that churches, mosques⁹ and temples could be forced into solemnising relationships of which they disapprove¹⁰ profoundly. Are they right to worry?

　　目前的问题是如何去平衡这两种相对抗的权利——宗教表达自由权和性取向不受歧视的权利。此矛盾最近一次上头条是在2007年，那一年，一条新闻报道了一对同性恋夫妇要求一个天主教收养机构允许他们收养孩子，还有一条新闻报道了一家小旅店虔诚的业主们被告知他们不得拒绝向同性恋伴侣出租双人间。这次的争议核心是宗教活动，而非慈善或商业服务。一些人担心，一旦同性婚姻合法化允许在宗教处所举办婚礼的话，教堂、清真寺和寺庙都将被迫为其举办隆重的典礼，而这种同性婚姻他们根本不能接受。这样的担心难道毫无道理吗？

　　The government assures them they need not. All same-sex couples will be entitled to civil marriage, not just the civil partnership¹¹ they have been allowed since 2005. Those who wish to marry religiously may do so, if a church is willing. A “quadruple lock” has been designed to protect churches that are not against suits for discrimination or breaching¹² human rights.

　　政府承诺这样的担心没必要。2005年，英国允许同性伴侣有民事伴侣关系权，现所有同性伴侣将享有民事婚姻权。如果某个教堂愿意，同性伴侣可去教堂举行婚礼。政府还制定了一个“四重法律锁”来保护那些不愿意为其主持婚礼的教堂免于歧视和侵犯人权的诉讼。

　　The new law (which should be on the statute¹³ books in 2015) will state that no religious organisation¹⁴ or minister can be compelled to marry same-sex couples. There will be a formal “opt-in” system for those that are interested. The Equality Act of 2010 will be amended¹⁵. The Church of England, whose canon law is intertwined with the law of the land and normally has a duty to marry people, will not, at its own request, splice¹⁶ same-sex couples, unless canon law and legislation are changed.

　　新法（预计2015年实施）规定，不强迫任何宗教组织和牧师给同性伴侣举行婚礼。届时会为那些有兴趣的宗教组织和牧师提供正式的“自由选择”流程。2010年的《平等法》将会修订。英国国教会的教会法与当地法律关系紧密，通常还肩负为公民举办婚礼的义务。但在它的要求下，英国国教会不会为同性伴侣举办婚礼，除非教会法和法律改变。

　　That still leaves Strasbourg, which has cheerfully overlooked Parliament’s declared wish and told Britain to let at least some convicted prisoners vote. “There’s no way you can stop a couple going to the European Court of Human Rights and arguing that the fact British law does not oblige religious organisations to marry them is a violation¹⁷ of their rights,” says Robert Wintamute, a barrister who teaches at Kings College London. But they won’t get far, he reckons. Others agree. The European Convention is a touch ambiguous. The court does not require governments to let gay couples marry, still less churches.

　　斯特拉斯堡（欧洲人权法庭的所在地），跟英国政府在囚犯是否享有选举权问题上有分歧。在伦敦国王学院教书的大律师罗伯特（Robert Wintamute）说：“你没法阻止一对伴侣跑到欧洲人权法庭去控告英国法律——宗教组织可不为同性伴侣举办婚礼——是对他们的侵权。”但他们也不会成功。其他人也同意这样的说法。欧洲人权公约对此有点模糊不清。法庭不会要求国家政府允许同性婚姻，更不用说教堂了。

　　But debate over the limits of religious freedom is lively. The hotel owners lost in the Court of Appeals in February, but Lady Justice Rafferty had this to say: “It would be unfortunate to replace legal oppression of one community (homosexual couples) with legal oppression of another (those sharing the Appellants’ beliefs)” The Supreme¹⁸ Court has accepted their case.

　　但关于宗教自由限度的讨论热烈了起来。之前提到的旅馆业主2月份在上诉法庭又败诉了，但是女大法官Rafferty补充说道，“如果把一部分人（同性伴侣）的自由建立在另一部分人（那些和上诉人有着同样信仰的人）身上，这也是不幸的。”最高法庭已经受理了此案件。

　　Strasbourg too has seen action. Four British people who say their employers denied them religious expression—including Nadia Eweida, initially¹⁹ refused permission by British Airways²⁰ to wear a visible cross—were heard by the court there in September. A judgment²¹ may emerge in January. All of which suggests that politicians may enact²² as many “locks” as they please, but in the end courts hold the keys.

　　斯特拉斯堡也有过类似情况。四名英国人称其雇主不顾自己的宗教信仰，其中纳迪亚·艾薇达（Nadia Eweida） 首当其冲，她所在的英国航空公司不允许她带的十字架露在外面。他们四位9月已经接受欧洲人权法庭聆讯。判决结果也许在1月份公布。这一切都告诉我们，政客们可以随意颁布各种“保护锁”，但法庭有最终解释权。

　　1.gay marriage 同性婚姻

　　例句:While all of the candidates oppose gay marriage, no one bashed homosexuals.

　　所有候选人都反对同性婚姻，但没人抨击同性恋。

　　2.human rights 人权

　　例句:In the treaty both sides pledge to respect human rights.

　　双方在条约中都承诺将尊重人权。

　　3.along with 随着；连同...一起

　　例句:The problem of pollution arises along with the rapid development of industry.

　　随着工业的迅速发展，产生了污染问题。

　　4.put...in doubt 对...有疑问

　　例句:Future vital investment in the industry could be put in doubt.

　　该行业未来的关键投资可能产生变数。

1 bleakly   

无望地，阴郁地，苍凉地

参考例句：

• The windows of the house stared bleakly down at her. 那座房子的窗户居高临下阴森森地对着她。
• He stared at me bleakly and said nothing. 他阴郁地盯着我，什么也没说。

2 austere   

adj.艰苦的；朴素的，朴实无华的；严峻的

参考例句：

• His way of life is rather austere.他的生活方式相当简朴。
• The room was furnished in austere style.这间屋子的陈设都很简单朴素。

3 detailed   

adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• A detailed list of our publications is available on request.我们的出版物有一份详细的目录备索。

4 contravenes   

v.取消，违反( contravene的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• This fence contravenes our common right to pasturage. 这道栅栏侵害了我们牧场的共有权。 来自辞典例句
• This evidence contravenes our theory. 这个证据跟我们的理论不相符。 来自辞典例句

5 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 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。

7 adoption   

n.采用，采纳，通过；收养

参考例句：

• An adoption agency had sent the boys to two different families.一个收养机构把他们送给两个不同的家庭。
• The adoption of this policy would relieve them of a tremendous burden.采取这一政策会给他们解除一个巨大的负担。

8 premises   

n.建筑物，房屋

参考例句：

• According to the rules,no alcohol can be consumed on the premises.按照规定，场内不准饮酒。
• All repairs are done on the premises and not put out.全部修缮都在家里进行，不用送到外面去做。

9 mosques   

清真寺； 伊斯兰教寺院，清真寺； 清真寺，伊斯兰教寺院( mosque的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Why make us believe that this tunnel runs underneath the mosques? 为什么要让我们相信这条隧洞是在清真寺下？
• The city's three biggest mosques, long fallen into disrepair, have been renovated. 城里最大的三座清真寺，过去年久失修，现在已经修复。

10 disapprove   

v.不赞成，不同意，不批准

参考例句：

• I quite disapprove of his behaviour.我很不赞同他的行为。
• She wants to train for the theatre but her parents disapprove.她想训练自己做戏剧演员，但她的父母不赞成。

11 partnership   

n.合作关系，伙伴关系

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。

12 breaching   

攻破( breach的过去式 )； 破坏，违反

参考例句：

• The company was prosecuted for breaching the Health and Safety Act. 这家公司被控违反《卫生安全条例》。
• Third, an agency can abuse its discretion by breaching certain principles of judge-made law. 第三，行政机关会因违反某些法官制定的法律原则而构成滥用自由裁量权。

13 statute   

n.成文法，法令，法规；章程，规则，条例

参考例句：

• Protection for the consumer is laid down by statute.保障消费者利益已在法令里作了规定。
• The next section will consider this environmental statute in detail.下一部分将详细论述环境法令的问题。

14 organisation   

n.组织，安排，团体，有机休

参考例句：

• The method of his organisation work is worth commending.他的组织工作的方法值得称道。
• His application for membership of the organisation was rejected.他想要加入该组织的申请遭到了拒绝。

15 Amended   

adj. 修正的 动词amend的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He asked to see the amended version. 他要求看修订本。
• He amended his speech by making some additions and deletions. 他对讲稿作了些增删修改。

16 splice   

v.接合，衔接；n.胶接处，粘接处

参考例句：

• He taught me to edit and splice film.他教我剪辑和粘接胶片。
• The film will be spliced with footage of Cypress Hill to be filmed in America.这部电影要和将在美国拍摄的柏树山乐队的音乐片段粘接在一起。

17 violation   

n.违反(行为)，违背(行为)，侵犯

参考例句：

• He roared that was a violation of the rules.他大声说，那是违反规则的。
• He was fined 200 dollars for violation of traffic regulation.他因违反交通规则被罚款200美元。

18 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。

19 initially   

adv.最初，开始

参考例句：

• The ban was initially opposed by the US.这一禁令首先遭到美国的反对。
• Feathers initially developed from insect scales.羽毛最初由昆虫的翅瓣演化而来。

20 AIRWAYS   

航空公司

参考例句：

• The giant jets that increasingly dominate the world's airways. 越来越称雄于世界航线的巨型喷气机。
• At one point the company bought from Nippon Airways a 727 jet. 有一次公司从日本航空公司买了一架727型喷气机。

21 judgment   

n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见

参考例句：

• The chairman flatters himself on his judgment of people.主席自认为他审视人比别人高明。
• He's a man of excellent judgment.他眼力过人。

22 enact   

vt.制定(法律)；上演，扮演

参考例句：

• The U.S. Congress has exclusive authority to enact federal legislation.美国国会是唯一有权颁布联邦法律的。
• For example,a country can enact laws and economic policies to attract foreign investment fairly quickly.例如一个国家可以很快颁布吸引外资的法令和经济政策。