美国最高院也举起彩虹旗 US court hands victory to love

In a historic moment on June 26, the US Supreme Court ruled that same-sex marriage is a legal right across all 50 states. The Supreme Court justices ruled states cannot deny gay men and women the same marriage rights. The decision means the 13 states with bans on same-sex marriage are no longer able to enforce them.

6月26日是一个历史性的时刻，美国最高法院裁决同性婚姻在全美50个州全部合法。美国最高法院大法官裁定任何一个州都不能剥夺同性男女获得平等婚姻权利。这也意味着之前美国13个州对同性婚姻的禁令失去效应。

Same-sex couples “ask for equal dignity in the eyes of the law”. Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote in the majority opinion: “The Constitution grants them that right.”

大法官安东尼•肯尼迪在意见书中这样写到：同性情侣“寻求法律保障下的平等的尊严，而宪法也将赋予他们这份权利。”

The decision came after decades of litigation and activism. It set off celebrations across the US. In affected states including Georgia, Michigan, Ohio and Texas, same-sex couples rushed to wed, while officials in Mississippi and Louisiana said marriages had to wait until procedural issues were addressed, reported the BBC.

该裁决是几十年来不断的诉讼与行动的结果。庆祝的热潮正席卷全美。据BBC报道，在裁决生效的诸多州包括乔治亚州、密歇根州、俄亥俄州和德克萨斯州，大批同性情侣涌去登记结婚，而密西西比州和路易斯安那州的官员则表示还需等待一些程序问题的处理。

According to “The New York Times”, the ruling came against the backdrop of fast-moving changes in public opinion in the US, with polls indicating that most Americans now approve of same-sex marriage.

据《纽约时报》报道，通过这项裁决也能看出美国快速变化的公众舆论，民调显示现在大多数美国人都认同同性婚姻。

US President Barack Obama welcomed the ruling, saying it “affirms what millions of Americans already believe in their hearts.” “Today,” he said in a press release, “we can say, in no uncertain terms, that we have made our union a little more perfect.”

美国总统奥巴马也支持此项裁决，他表示“该裁决肯定了成千上万美国人内心已经相信的东西。”在新闻发布会上，他还说道：“今天，我们终于可以毫不含糊地说，我们让美利坚变得离完美更进一步。”

Another win

另一场胜利

This was the second time the Supreme Court took up same-sex marriage, according to an article in “Business Insider”. The first time, in June 2013, the court made a decision that allowed the US federal government to recognize same-sex marriages in states where they were already legal.

据《商业内幕》的一篇文章所言，这其实是美国最高法院第二次受理同性婚姻合法化案件。第一次是在2013年6月，当时美国最高院裁定美国联邦政府承认已经允许同性婚姻的州同性婚姻合法。

But at that time, the Supreme Court declined to rule on the broader question about gay marriage: Is there a constitutional right to same-sex marriage? The June 26 ruling gave a positive answer to that question.

但当时，最高法院拒绝就更广泛的同性婚姻问题做出裁决—“同性婚姻是否享有宪法权利？”。不过今年6月26日的裁决对这一问题给出了肯定的答案。

Justice Kennedy wrote in the majority opinion that the Constitution should evolve with societal changes.

肯尼迪大法官在意见书中写道：宪法应根据社会的变化而不断发展。

“The nature of injustice is that we may not always see it in our own times,” he wrote. “The generations that wrote and ratified the “Bill of Rights” and the “Fourteenth Amendment” did not presume to know the extent of freedom in all of its dimensions, and so they entrusted to future generations a charter protecting the right of all persons to enjoy liberty as we learn its meaning.”

他还写道：“公平的本质就是我们在有生之年也许总是难见。写出并批准《权利法案》与《第十四条修正案》的先贤们深知自己无法理解自由的全部方面，因此他们给后代委以重托，希望他们能保护所有人享受自由的权利，正如我们所了解的自由的含义。”

The Fourteenth Amendment addresses citizenship rights and equal protection of the law. In the June 26 ruling, the Supreme Court declared that the equal protection clause of the amendment requires marriage rights be extended to same-sex couples, too.

《第十四条修正案》赋予公民以权利，让他们享受法律的平等保护。今年6月26日，美国最高法院宣布该修正案平等保护条款也要求将婚姻权利赋予同性情侣。