VOA标准英语2013--Supreme Court to Rule on Gay Marriage in US

Supreme¹ Court to Rule on Gay Marriage in US

Supporters of gay marriage believe public momentum² is on their side as they prepare for two legal showdowns at the Supreme Court.

"We’ve gone from zero states to now nine states plus the District of Columbia, our nation’s capital here in the U.S., and 14 countries on four continents where gay people can now share in the freedom to marry - all up from virtually zero a little more than a decade ago," said Evan Wolfson, founder³ and president of Freedom to Marry.

Recent polls show growing support for gay marriage in the U.S., especially among young people, says Quinnipiac pollster Peter Brown.

"There is no doubt that we in this country are in the midst of a change in attitude about gay issues, gay-rights issues and gay marriage. Over the last five to seven years it has changed dramatically," Brown said.

Two separate cases on same-sex marriage are before the Supreme Court.

In one, the high court will decide whether California’s ban on gay marriage known as Proposition 8 is constitutional.

In the second case the Supreme Court will consider a challenge to a 1996 federal law known as the Defense⁴ of Marriage Act, which defines marriage as the union of one man and one woman.

Conservative opponents of gay marriage have been preparing for the legal battles, including Peter Sprigg of the Family Research Council.

"Society needs children. Children need a mom and a dad. That’s why we think marriage should be defined as the union of one man and one woman," Sprigg said.

Sprigg says conservatives will be closely watching to see if the Supreme Court overturns the California ballot⁵ initiative banning gay marriage.

"If the court decides that it is a violation⁶ of the United States Constitution to limit marriage to the union of one man and one woman then they could theoretically impose the legalization of same-sex marriage on all 50 states in the union," Sprigg said.

Wolfson says the question is whether the nine-member Supreme Court will reflect or reject what he believes is growing public support for same-sex marriage.

"People have had a chance to see it with their own eyes. It went from being an abstract idea that was easy to scare people about into a reality that people now see in many states and many countries. Families helped and no one hurt when we end this discrimination," Wolfson said.

The political winds appear to be shifting on gay marriage. Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton opposed the idea during her presidential run in 2008. But she recently came out in favor of it in a Web video produced by the Human Rights Campaign, a leading gay-rights group.

"And they are full and equal citizens and deserve the rights of citizenship⁷. That includes marriage," Clinton said.

Republican Senator Rob Portman of Ohio surprised fellow conservatives with his recent switch to support gay marriage because his son is gay.

But others remain opposed, including Florida Senator Marco Rubio, a possible presidential contender in 2016.

"Just because I believe that states have the right to define marriage in the traditional way does not make me a bigot," Rubio said.

The Supreme Court will issue rulings in the two gay marriage cases by the end of June. 

1 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。

2 momentum   

n.动力，冲力，势头；动量

参考例句：

• We exploit the energy and momentum conservation laws in this way.我们就是这样利用能量和动量守恒定律的。
• The law of momentum conservation could supplant Newton's third law.动量守恒定律可以取代牛顿第三定律。

3 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

4 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

5 ballot   

n.（不记名）投票，投票总数，投票权；vi.投票

参考例句：

• The members have demanded a ballot.会员们要求投票表决。
• The union said they will ballot members on whether to strike.工会称他们将要求会员投票表决是否罢工。

6 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。

7 citizenship   

n.市民权，公民权，国民的义务(身份)

参考例句：

• He was born in Sweden,but he doesn't have Swedish citizenship.他在瑞典出生，但没有瑞典公民身分。
• Ten years later,she chose to take Australian citizenship.十年后，她选择了澳大利亚国籍。