2006年VOA标准英语-South Africa Same-Sex Marriage Law Sparks Inten

By Scott Bobb
Johannesburg
16 November 2006

South Africa this week became the first African country, and only the fifth in the world, to legalize same-sex marriages. The law was passed overwhelmingly in the national assembly, because of support by the ruling African National Congress. But it caused a heated debate across the country that is not likely to subside¹ soon.

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Document on display at debate on civil union bill conducted in English, Zulu and Sotho, in Soweto, Sept. 20, 2006
  
South Africa's Minister of Home Affairs, Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, presented the bill to the National Assembly, saying it addressed one of the inequalities left over from the apartheid era.

"When we attained² our democracy we sought to distinguish ourselves from an unjust, painful past by declaring that never again shall it be that any South African would be discriminated³ against on the basis of color, creed⁴, culture and sex," she said.

The new law legalizes marriages between adults of the same or opposite sexes. It was passed a few weeks before a deadline set by the country's Constitutional Court.

The court ruled a year ago that the existing marriage law, enacted⁵ in 1961, did not conform to South Africa's 1996 constitution. The constitution, ratified⁶ two years after the end of apartheid, guarantees equal rights for all.

A pastor⁷ gives his views at a debate on civil union bill in Soweto, Sept. 20, 2006  
  
Although most South Africans reject discrimination, the concept of same-sex marriage upset many people, especially religious communities.

The leader of the African Christian⁸ Democratic Party, Pastor Kenneth Meshoe, told delegates the constitution should be amended⁹ to protect, what he called, the sanctity of traditional marriage.

"The Civil Union Bill justifies¹⁰ immorality¹¹ and, by inference, calls sexual perversion¹² a legitimate¹³ alternative lifestyle that should be openly accepted," he said.

A delegate of the predominantly Afrikaaner, Freedom Front Plus party, Corne Mulder spoke¹⁴ in Afrikaans and English to say that the constitution and the law must not go against the values of the community.

"Marriage is an institution created by God between a man and a woman. That is why God created Adam and Eve and not Adam and Steve," he said.

The same-sex marriage bill also angered traditional African leaders who said it violates African customs and morals.

A delegate from the Pan Africanist Congress of Azania, Motsuoko Pheko, said same-sex marriage was un-African and noted¹⁵ that homosexuality is illegal in many African countries.

"Only those who have sold their souls to cultural imperialism¹⁶ will support this obscenity," he said.

He said the freedom struggle in South Africa was not for same-sex marriage, but against poverty, landlessness and a lack of social services.

He said the bill should be submitted to a national referendum.

But a delegate of the ruling African National Congress, Sefora Ntombela, quoted from a letter written by a boy in which he described his feelings of alienation¹⁷ because he felt like a woman.

Speaking in Sesotho and English, she asked if God was against such people, why would he create this boy.

"Who am I to say no to the rights of other people?," she said.

Other delegates said the bill was a compromise that had failed to achieve its purpose.

A delegate of the opposition¹⁸ Democratic Alliance, Santosh Vinita Kalyan, said the government had created a new civil marriage law which includes all South Africans, but had retained the old marriage law that discriminates¹⁹ against gays and lesbians.

"The bill is a starting point in the right direction, but in the wrong way," Kalyan said. "The ideal is to have a marriage act, one marriage act for everyone. It is the only way to truly recognize the equality of all our people."

The new law also includes a provision that allows marriage officials to refuse to carry out a ceremony for reasons of conscience. Gay rights activists²⁰ say this measure discriminates against them and therefore is unconstitutional. 

Participants take part in Johannesburg's 17th Gay Pride parade, Sept. 30, 2006  
  
Gay and lesbian groups generally have welcomed the new law, but some say they intend to challenge it in court.

A researcher at Johannesburg's Center for Applied²¹ Legal Studies, Beth Goldblatt, notes that the new law also fails to address traditional marriages, religious marriages, and domestic partnerships²².

"Parliament has said that this bill is an interim²³ measure to meet the deadline that the court gave the parliament and that over the longer term there may be general reforms to bring all marriages into a single system," she said.

As a result, some analysts²⁴ say other marriage legislation is likely to be proposed in South Africa and the debate will likely be as intense as before.

1 subside   

vi.平静，平息；下沉，塌陷，沉降

参考例句：

• The emotional reaction which results from a serious accident takes time to subside.严重事故所引起的情绪化的反应需要时间来平息。
• The controversies surrounding population growth are unlikely to subside soon.围绕着人口增长问题的争论看来不会很快平息。

2 attained   

（通常经过努力）实现( attain的过去式和过去分词 )； 达到； 获得； 达到（某年龄、水平、状况）

参考例句：

• She has attained the degree of Master of Arts. 她已获得文学硕士学位。
• Lu Hsun attained a high position in the republic of letters. 鲁迅在文坛上获得崇高的地位。

3 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？

4 creed   

n.信条；信念，纲领

参考例句：

• They offended against every article of his creed.他们触犯了他的每一条戒律。
• Our creed has always been that business is business.我们的信条一直是公私分明。

5 enacted   

制定（法律），通过（法案）( enact的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• legislation enacted by parliament 由议会通过的法律
• Outside in the little lobby another scene was begin enacted. 外面的小休息室里又是另一番景象。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

6 ratified   

v.批准，签认（合约等）( ratify的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The treaty was declared invalid because it had not been ratified. 条约没有得到批准，因此被宣布无效。
• The treaty was ratified by all the member states. 这个条约得到了所有成员国的批准。

7 pastor   

n.牧师，牧人

参考例句：

• He was the son of a poor pastor.他是一个穷牧师的儿子。
• We have no pastor at present:the church is run by five deacons.我们目前没有牧师：教会的事是由五位执事管理的。

8 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

9 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。

10 justifies   

证明…有理( justify的第三人称单数 )； 为…辩护； 对…作出解释； 为…辩解（或辩护）

参考例句：

• Their frequency of use both justifies and requires the memorization. 频繁的使用需要记忆，也促进了记忆。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓
• In my judgement the present end justifies the means. 照我的意见，只要目的正当，手段是可以不计较的。

11 immorality   

n. 不道德, 无道义

参考例句：

• All the churchmen have preached against immorality. 所有牧师都讲道反对不道德的行为。
• Where the European sees immorality and lawlessness, strict law rules in reality. 在欧洲人视为不道德和无规则的地方，事实上都盛行着一种严格的规则。 来自英汉非文学 - 家庭、私有制和国家的起源

12 perversion   

n.曲解；堕落；反常

参考例句：

• In its most general sense,corruption means the perversion or abandonment.就其最一般的意义上说，舞弊就是堕落，就是背离准则。
• Her account was a perversion of the truth.她所讲的歪曲了事实。

13 legitimate   

adj.合法的，合理的，合乎逻辑的；v.使合法

参考例句：

• Sickness is a legitimate reason for asking for leave.生病是请假的一个正当的理由。
• That's a perfectly legitimate fear.怀有这种恐惧完全在情理之中。

14 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

15 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

16 imperialism   

n.帝国主义，帝国主义政策

参考例句：

• They held the imperialism in contempt.他们鄙视帝国主义。
• Imperialism has not been able to subjugate China.帝国主义不能征服中国。

17 alienation   

n.疏远；离间；异化

参考例句：

• The new policy resulted in the alienation of many voters.新政策导致许多选民疏远了。
• As almost every conceivable contact between human beings gets automated,the alienation index goes up.随着人与人之间几乎一切能想到的接触方式的自动化，感情疏远指数在不断上升。

18 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。

19 discriminates   

分别，辨别，区分( discriminate的第三人称单数 )； 歧视，有差别地对待

参考例句：

• The new law discriminates against lower-paid workers. 这条新法律歧视低工资的工人。
• One test governs state legislation that discriminates against interstate commerce. 一个检验约束歧视州际商业的州立法。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

20 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

21 applied   

adj.应用的；v.应用，适用

参考例句：

• She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。
• This cream is best applied to the face at night.这种乳霜最好晚上擦脸用。

22 partnerships   

n.伙伴关系( partnership的名词复数 )；合伙人身份；合作关系

参考例句：

• Partnerships suffer another major disadvantage: decision-making is shared. 合伙企业的另一主要缺点是决定要由大家来作。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件
• It involved selling off limited partnerships. 它涉及到售出有限的合伙权。 来自辞典例句

23 interim   

adj.暂时的，临时的；n.间歇，过渡期间

参考例句：

• The government is taking interim measures to help those in immediate need.政府正在采取临时措施帮助那些有立即需要的人。
• It may turn out to be an interim technology.这可能只是个过渡技术。

24 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。