美國最高院也舉起彩虹旗 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日是一個歷史性的時刻，美國最高法院裁決同性婚姻在全美50個州全部合法。美國最高法院大法官裁定任何一個州都不能剝奪同性男女獲得平等婚姻權利。這也意味着之前美國13個州對同性婚姻的禁令失去效應。

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.”

大法官安東尼•肯尼迪在意見書中這樣寫到：同性情侶“尋求法律保障下的平等的尊嚴，而憲法也將賦予他們這份權利。”

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.

該裁決是幾十年來不斷的訴訟與行動的結果。慶祝的熱潮正席捲全美。據BBC報道，在裁決生效的諸多州包括喬治亞州、密歇根州、俄亥俄州和德克薩斯州，大批同性情侶涌去登記結婚，而密西西比州和路易斯安那州的官員則表示還需等待一些程序問題的處理。

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.

據《紐約時報》報道，通過這項裁決也能看出美國快速變化的公衆輿論，民調顯示現在大多數美國人都認同同性婚姻。

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.”

美國總統奧巴馬也支持此項裁決，他表示“該裁決肯定了成千上萬美國人內心已經相信的東西。”在新聞發佈會上，他還說道：“今天，我們終於可以毫不含糊地說，我們讓美利堅變得離完美更進一步。”

Another win

另一場勝利

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.

據《商業內幕》的一篇文章所言，這其實是美國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，當時美國最高院裁定美國聯邦政府承認已經允許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.

但當時，最高法院拒絕就更廣泛的同性婚姻問題做出裁決—“同性婚姻是否享有憲法權利？”。不過今年6月26日的裁決對這一問題給出了肯定的答案。

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

肯尼迪大法官在意見書中寫道：憲法應根據社會的變化而不斷髮展。

“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.”

他還寫道：“公平的本質就是我們在有生之年也許總是難見。寫出並批准《權利法案》與《第十四條修正案》的先賢們深知自己無法理解自由的全部方面，因此他們給後代委以重託，希望他們能保護所有人享受自由的權利，正如我們所瞭解的自由的含義。”

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.

《第十四條修正案》賦予公民以權利，讓他們享受法律的平等保護。今年6月26日，美國最高法院宣佈該修正案平等保護條款也要求將婚姻權利賦予同性情侶。