欧美人文风情第175篇:相爱的权利

 Bill and I met in 1963 at the wedding of a sister of a friend of mine.  比尔和我在 1963 年一场朋友妹妹的婚礼上相遇。

Because it was many years ago, we were seated together at the young people's table.  因为那是许多年前了，所以那时我们一起坐在年轻人那桌。

And we have been happily together ever since. 从此以后，我们过着幸福快乐的日子。

Not having legal protection among gay couples, we heard stories, horror stories. 没有法律保障同性伴侣，我们听过许多故事，许多骇人的故事。

The only option was to use whatever legal process there was to protect ourselves.  唯一的选择就是利用当时存在的任何法律程序来保护我们自己。

We adopted each other in the year 2000, so it's been a 15-year relationship as father and son. 我们在 2000 年时领养彼此，所以这是个以父子身份持续 15 年的关系。

The fact that legally we're father and son, it did not mean that much to us. 法律上我们是父与子这件事，这对我们来说其实没什么意义。

When we moved to Pennsylvania, we became aware that legally we were considered strangers.  在我们搬到宾州时，我们开始发现，就法律来说，我们被认定是陌生人。

We had no legal underpinning² at all to our relationship.  我们的关系毫无任何法律支持。

And we were told by our legal adviser³ that hell would freeze over before Pennsylvania did accept same-sex marriage. 而我们的法律顾问告诉我们，在宾州接受同性婚姻前，地狱会先冰封。

Now that Pennsylvania is enlightened, we decided⁴ to take advantage of it and proceed with the marriage. 而今宾州敞开胸襟，我们决定好好善用并进行结婚仪式。

So this is where it was all made legal. 所以这样一切就合法了。

The courtroom burst into applause, and I burst into tears, but tears of happiness, certainly. 法庭爆出一阵热烈掌声，而我哭了起来，但当然是喜悦的泪水。

Adoption⁵ vacated; they'll wed¹ soon. 领养撤销；他们很快就会步入礼堂。

I was freed of thinking of myself as father, and we were free to proceed with the marriage. 我从将自己视为父亲的想法中被解放出来，而我们可以不被限制地结婚了。

To finally be able to be married after 53 years was an almost indescribable feeling. 经过 53 年终于得以结婚，这是种几乎无法言喻的感觉。

When we started our relationship, marriage was so out of the question that it wasn't even on the horizon. 在我们开始交往时，婚姻根本是天方夜谭，我们根本没想过这会发生。

So literally⁶, we had a 52-year engagement and a quick marriage. 所以不夸张，我们约会了 52 年然后速速结了婚。

 

1 wed   

v.娶，嫁，与…结婚

参考例句：

• The couple eventually wed after three year engagement.这对夫妇在订婚三年后终于结婚了。
• The prince was very determined to wed one of the king's daughters.王子下定决心要娶国王的其中一位女儿。

2 underpinning   

n.基础材料；基础结构；（学说、理论等的）基础；（人的）腿v.用砖石结构等从下面支撑（墙等）( underpin的现在分词 )；加固（墙等）的基础；为（论据、主张等）打下基础；加强

参考例句：

• Underpinning this success has been an exemplary record of innovation. 具有典范性的创新确保了这次成功。 来自辞典例句
• But underpinning Mr Armstrong's technology changes is a human touch. 但阿姆斯特朗技术变革的支柱是人情味。 来自互联网

3 adviser   

n.劝告者，顾问

参考例句：

• They employed me as an adviser.他们聘请我当顾问。
• Our department has engaged a foreign teacher as phonetic adviser.我们系已经聘请了一位外籍老师作为语音顾问。

4 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。

5 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。

6 literally   

adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实

参考例句：

• He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
• Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。