A gay couple kisses outside Argentina's congress during a rally to support a proposal to legalize same-sex marriage in Buenos Aires, Wednesday, July 14, 2010.(Agencies) |
Argentina has become the first Latin American country to legalize same-sex marriage. The move grants homosexual couples all the legal rights, responsibilities and protections that marriage gives heterosexual couples. President Cristina Fernandez is a strong supporter and the new law is expected to bring a wave of marriages. The approval came despite a concerted campaign by the Roman Catholic Church and evangelical groups, which drew 60,000 people to march on Congress and urged parents in churches and schools to work against passage. Nine homosexual couples have already married in Argentina after persuading judges that Argentina's constitutional mandate of equality supports their marriage rights, but some of these marriages were later declared invalid. The debate stretched on for nearly 16 hours. "Marriage between a man and a woman has existed for centuries, and is essential for the perpetuation of the species," insisted Senator Juan Perez Alsina, who is usually a loyal supporter of the president but gave a passionate speech against legalizing same-sex marriage. However, Senator Norma Morandini, another member of the president's party, compared the discrimination closeted gays face to the oppression imposed by Argentina's dictators decades ago. "What defines us is our humanity, and what runs against humanity is intolerance." Same-sex civil unions have been legalized in Uruguay, Buenos Aires and some states in Mexico and Brazil. But Argentina now becomes the first country in Latin America to legalize same-sex marriage nationwide. Homosexual couples who marry will now get many more rights than civil unions, including adopting children and inheriting wealth. (Read by Nelly Min. Nelly Min is a journalist at the China Daily Web site.) (Agencies) |
阿根廷于日前(通過一項承認同性婚姻的法案),由此成為拉美首個同性婚姻合法化的國家。 該法案賦予同性伴侶與異性伴侶在婚姻方面同等的法律權(quán)利、應(yīng)承擔(dān)的責(zé)任和可受到的保護。 阿根廷總統(tǒng)克里斯蒂娜?費爾南德斯是同性婚姻合法化法案的堅定支持者。該法案的推出預(yù)計會在阿根廷國內(nèi)掀起一股同性戀結(jié)婚潮。 該法案遭到了阿根廷羅馬天主教會和基督教福音派組織的強烈抗議,他們共召集了六萬名民眾前往議會游行,并呼吁教會和學(xué)生家長反對該法案的通過。 阿根廷迄今已有九對同性伴侶步入婚姻殿堂,而他們往往都是用阿根廷憲法人人平等的原則來說服法官,從而維護自己的婚姻權(quán)利,但其中一些婚姻之后被宣布無效。 有關(guān)日前通過的同性婚姻合法化法案的辯論持續(xù)了近16個小時。 參議員胡安?佩雷斯?阿爾西納稱:“異性婚姻已存在了幾個世紀,這種婚姻形式對于人類的延續(xù)至關(guān)重要?!焙彩强偨y(tǒng)克里斯蒂娜的堅定支持者,但在當(dāng)天的辯論中,他則激情洋溢地發(fā)表了一番反對同性婚姻合法化的演講。 而總統(tǒng)陣營的另外一員、參議員諾瑪?莫蘭迪尼則將無法公開關(guān)系的同性戀人所受到的歧視比作阿根廷幾十年前的獨裁統(tǒng)治。他說:“我們的人性讓我們發(fā)展成今天這樣,而不寬容則恰恰與人性背道而馳。“ 目前,同性民事伴侶關(guān)系已在烏拉圭、布宜諾斯艾利斯、墨西哥的一部分州以及巴西得到合法化,但阿根廷通過的新法案則讓其成為拉美首個同性婚姻在全國范圍內(nèi)合法化的國家。結(jié)為正式婚姻關(guān)系的同性伴侶將比在民事關(guān)系狀態(tài)下享有更多的權(quán)利,包括兒童收養(yǎng)和財產(chǎn)繼承方面的權(quán)利等。 相關(guān)閱讀 civil partnership: 民事伴侶關(guān)系 (中國日報網(wǎng)英語點津 Julie 編輯蔡姍姍) |
Vocabulary: evangelical: pertaining to or in keeping with the gospel and its teachings(基督教福音派的) |