美国同性婚姻终合法,支持者迎来胜利日

The US Supreme Court has handed two landmark victories to gay Americans and advocates of same-sex marriage, ordering the federal government to recognise legally married gay couples and paving the way for the resumption of same-sex weddings in California.

美国最高法院(US Supreme Court)做出两项裁决，一项要求联邦政府承认合法结婚同性伴侣的权益，另一项为加州让同性婚姻再度合法化铺平了道路。对美国同性恋人群和同性婚姻拥护者来说，这是两个里程碑式的胜利。

The rulings, both with 5-4 majorities, come amid a seismic shift in the US in public attitudes in favour of same-sex marriage. Crowds of people waved rainbow flags outside the court in celebration yesterday, while social conservatives condemned the decision as an affront to natural order.

这两项裁决（投票结果均为5票对4票）做出之际，美国公众对同性婚姻的态度正在发生巨大变化，更多人转向认同同性婚姻。昨日，许多人在法院外面挥舞彩虹旗以示庆祝，而社会保守人士则谴责这两项裁决是在对抗人类自然秩序。

President Barack Obama applauded the decisions. “The laws of our land are catching up to the fundamental truth that millions of Americans hold in our hearts: when all Americans are treated as equal, no matter who they are or whom they love, we are all more free.”

美国总统巴拉克•奥巴马(Barack Obama)对裁决表示赞赏。他说：“我们国家的法律正在改进，以求符合一项无数美国人心中信仰的基本真理：当所有的美国人——不论他们身份如何、取向如何——都能受到平等对待时，我们所有人都会更加自由。”

The Supreme Court did not answer the fundamental question about whether gay and lesbian people have a right to get married. Instead, with its decision to overturn a central plank of the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act, which defines marriage as between a man and a woman, the majority of the justices declared that the federal government must grant the same rights to all legally married couples.

美国最高法院并未回答同性恋人士是否有权结婚这个根本问题。但该法院以多数票裁定1996年《婚姻保护法》（Defense of Marriage Act，将婚姻定义为“一男一女的结合”）核心条款违宪。这所表达的意思是，联邦政府必须让所有合法结婚的伴侣享有同等权利。

Under Doma, same-sex marriages were not eligible for the 1,110 federal benefits – from the ability to file taxes jointly to pension inheritance – that straight couples enjoyed. Twelve states and the District of Columbia now allow same-sex weddings.

根据美国目前的《婚姻保护法》，同性婚姻中的伴侣不享有异性婚姻伴侣享有的1110项联邦福利——从共同报税权到养老金继承权。目前，美国已有12个州以及哥伦比亚特区允许同性结婚。

“This [Doma] places same-sex couples in an unstable position of being in a second-tier marriage,” Justice Anthony Kennedy, the swing vote on the court, wrote in the opinion for the majority. He sided with the four liberal justices on the court in finding Doma unconstitutional.

投出决定性赞成票的大法官安东尼•肯尼迪(Justice Anthony Kennedy)在撰写多方意见时称：“（婚姻保护法）将同性婚姻置于二等婚姻的不稳定地位。”肯尼迪与最高法院中的另外4名自由派法官一起，裁定《婚姻保护法》违宪。

In the second decision, one that was not split along ideological lines, the Supreme Court gave the green light to California to allow same-sex marriages. The justices said the proponents of California’s ban on same-sex marriage had no right to defend it against a lower court’s ruling that same-sex couples who wanted to marry in California should be able to do so. The state of California declined to defend the ban, which was passed by voters in 2008.

美国最高法院的第二项裁决为加州允许同性结婚开启了绿灯。在做出这项裁决时，投赞成票和投反对票的法官并不是以意识形态划分阵营的。法官们称，加州同性结婚禁令的支持者们无权对抗一个低级法院的一项裁决，即想在加州结婚的同性伴侣有权这样做。加州拒绝为这项在2008年由选民通过的禁令作出辩护。

The justices sent the case back to a lower court with instructions for it to dismiss the case.

法官们将该案发回低级法院，并建议其驳回该案。

Together, the rulings amount to a double boost for advocates of same-sex marriage.

上述两项裁决相当于为同性婚姻的支持者提供了双重鼓励。