美国国家公共电台 NPR Business Leaders Oppose 'License To Discriminate' Against LGBT Texans

 

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

In Austin, Texas, a new raft of anti-LGBT legislation is working its way through the state legislature. One bill would allow state-licensed² professionals of all types to deny services on religious grounds. Opponents call this legislation religious refusal bills. Supporters say the proposed laws are needed to protect those with strongly held religious beliefs. NPR's Wade³ Goodwyn has more.

WADE GOODWYN, BYLINE⁴: On a windy Tuesday morning on the steps of the capital in Austin, Texas business leaders gathered to announce their opposition⁵ to a series of bills that would sanction discrimination against their LGBT employees.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

MIKE HOLLINGER: I'm proud to speak on behalf of IBM, a company with an 80-plus year legacy⁶ in Texas and a workforce⁷ of around 10,000 here in the Lone⁸ Star State.

GOODWYN: Mike Hollinger is an executive at IBM.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

HOLLINGER: This license¹ to discriminate⁹ will damage the state's reputation and prevent people, including IBMers, from wanting to live and work here.

GOODWYN: The legislation Hollinger's referencing would allow licensed professionals, like plumbers¹⁰ or electricians, to deny service to anyone based on their sincerely held religious beliefs. A coalition¹¹ of more than 1,000 Texas and national businesses called Texas Competes are lobbying against the bills. It's the convention and travel industries in particular that tend to be the canaries in the coal mine. Phillip Jones, president and CEO of VisitDallas, says they'd be the first to keel over if the controversial legislation passes.

PHILLIP JONES: One in 10 trade shows held in America are held in Texas. I've got $100 million-worth of businesses currently at risk if this legislation were to pass.

GOODWYN: Two years ago, Texas tried to pass a bathroom bill that targeted transgender people. That bill provoked widespread opposition from businesses and business groups around the country. Jones says that even though the bill eventually failed, Texas convention centers had to adjust their contracts.

JONES: Based on our experience with the bathroom bill, they have a provision in their contracts that spells out that should Texas pass any form of discriminatory legislation, then they can cancel their meeting in Texas or in Dallas without any penalties.

GOODWYN: Supporters of the proposed legislation insist the idea is not to discriminate against LGBT people. The idea is to protect Texans who have strongly held religious convictions from being discriminated¹² against. While the new laws would apply to nearly every state-licensed occupation, there are a few exemptions¹³. Police officers, first responders and doctors providing immediate¹⁴, life-saving care would have to serve the general public. Jonathan Saenz is the president of Texas Values, a religious liberty organization.

JONATHAN SAENZ: Texans are very concerned about the attacks on our religious freedom and people of faith, particularly people that believe marriage and sexuality as it's defined in the Bible.

GOODWYN: Denying service to anyone or any group would be copacetic as long as that denial is rooted in the provider's sincerely held religious beliefs. Senate Bill 17 has already passed in the Texas Senate and moved to the House. Here's Texas Values' Jonathan Saenz again.

SAENZ: Senate Bill 17 just makes it clear that you can't force someone to choose between their work and their faith. You can't use the government to punish people that have to get a certain license or authorization¹⁵ just because of some of the personal religious beliefs that they have.

GOODWYN: It's rural communities which are most vulnerable if doctors or pharmacists refuse service. Alternatives are usually scarce or nonexistent. And opponents of the legislation worry that municipal, nondiscrimination ordinances¹⁶ in Dallas, Fort Worth, Austin, El Paso and San Antonio could be rendered unenforceable too. Dale Carpenter is a constitutional law professor at Southern Methodist University. Carpenter says that other than the city ordinances, state law provides no safeguards.

DALE CARPENTER: It is already perfectly¹⁷ legal to decline service and to do so on a discriminatory basis in the state of Texas. And, in fact, rights of conscience are already protected against state regulation for private citizens and professionals and businesses.

GOODWYN: Carpenter says that federal civil rights laws passed in the 1960s provide less protection from discrimination than many might imagine. Race, religion and national origin are protected from discrimination in public accommodations only, like restaurants, hotels and theaters. On Post-it Notes, Carpenter jotted¹⁸ down an ad hoc list of professions that can legally discriminate in Texas.

CARPENTER: Athletic¹⁹ trainers, doctors and nurses, dentists, accountants, engineers, architects, real estate agents, tax consultants²⁰, air conditioning repairer - on and on and on it goes.

GOODWYN: Carpenter believes that given the already generous legal right to discriminate in Texas, the latest round of bills are primarily so that the Republican-dominated legislature can demonstrate to its powerful evangelical wing that they're on the ball. But if a religious freedom bill does pass, the anti-LGBT optics could be bad for business. Wade Goodwyn, NPR News, Dallas.

1 license   

n.执照，许可证，特许；v.许可，特许

参考例句：

• The foreign guest has a license on the person.这个外国客人随身携带执照。
• The driver was arrested for having false license plates on his car.司机由于使用假车牌而被捕。

2 licensed   

adj.得到许可的v.许可，颁发执照(license的过去式和过去分词)

参考例句：

• The new drug has not yet been licensed in the US. 这种新药尚未在美国获得许可。
• Is that gun licensed? 那支枪有持枪执照吗？

3 wade   

v.跋涉，涉水；n.跋涉

参考例句：

• We had to wade through the river to the opposite bank.我们只好涉水过河到对岸。
• We cannot but wade across the river.我们只好趟水过去。

4 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。

5 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

6 legacy   

n.遗产，遗赠；先人(或过去)留下的东西

参考例句：

• They are the most precious cultural legacy our forefathers left.它们是我们祖先留下来的最宝贵的文化遗产。
• He thinks the legacy is a gift from the Gods.他认为这笔遗产是天赐之物。

7 workforce   

n.劳动大军，劳动力

参考例句：

• A large part of the workforce is employed in agriculture.劳动人口中一大部分受雇于农业。
• A quarter of the local workforce is unemployed.本地劳动力中有四分之一失业。

8 lone   

adj.孤寂的，单独的；唯一的

参考例句：

• A lone sea gull flew across the sky.一只孤独的海鸥在空中飞过。
• She could see a lone figure on the deserted beach.她在空旷的海滩上能看到一个孤独的身影。

9 discriminate   

v.区别，辨别，区分；有区别地对待

参考例句：

• You must learn to discriminate between facts and opinions.你必须学会把事实和看法区分出来。
• They can discriminate hundreds of colours.他们能分辨上百种颜色。

10 plumbers   

n.管子工，水暖工( plumber的名词复数 )；[美][口]（防止泄密的）堵漏人员

参考例句：

• Plumbers charge by the hour for their work. 水管工人的工作是以小时收费的。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Plumbers, carpenters, and other workmen finished the new house quickly. 管道工、木工及其他工匠很快完成了这幢新房子。 来自辞典例句

11 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

12 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？

13 exemptions   

n.（义务等的）免除( exemption的名词复数 )；免（税）；（收入中的）免税额

参考例句：

• The exemptions for interpretive rules, policy statements, and procedural rules have just been discussed. 有关解释性规则、政策说明和程序规则的免责我们刚刚讨论过。 来自英汉非文学 - 行政法
• A: The regulation outlines specific exemptions for some WPM. 答：该规定概述了某些木质包装材料的特定的例外情形。 来自互联网

14 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

15 authorization   

n.授权，委任状

参考例句：

• Anglers are required to obtain prior authorization from the park keeper.垂钓者必须事先得到公园管理者的许可。
• You cannot take a day off without authorization.未经批准你不得休假。

16 ordinances   

n.条例，法令( ordinance的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• These points of view, however, had not been generally accepted in building ordinances. 然而，这些观点仍未普遍地为其他的建筑条例而接受。 来自辞典例句
• Great are Your mercies, O Lord; Revive me according to Your ordinances. 诗119:156耶和华阿、你的慈悲本为大．求你照你的典章将我救活。 来自互联网

17 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。

18 jotted   

v.匆忙记下( jot的过去式和过去分词 )；草草记下，匆匆记下

参考例句：

• I jotted down her name. 我匆忙记下了她的名字。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The policeman jotted down my address. 警察匆匆地将我的地址记下。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

19 athletic   

adj.擅长运动的，强健的；活跃的，体格健壮的

参考例句：

• This area has been marked off for athletic practice.这块地方被划出来供体育训练之用。
• He is an athletic star.他是一个运动明星。

20 consultants   

顾问( consultant的名词复数 )； 高级顾问医生，会诊医生

参考例句：

• a firm of management consultants 管理咨询公司
• There're many consultants in hospital. 医院里有很多会诊医生。