奥巴马公开支持同性恋婚姻

时间：2012-05-10 08:29:18

（单词翻译:单击）

US President Barack Obama has ended months of hedging on the issue of gay marriage by saying he thinks same-sex couples should be able to wed1.

美国总统奥巴马对近期热议的同性恋婚姻表达了自己的态度，他认为同性恋情侣应该能够成婚。

He has become the first sitting US president to back gay marriage.

Mitt2 Romney, the Republican who is set to challenge Mr Obama for the White House in November's elections, promptly3 said he was against gay marriage.

In recent days, Vice-President Joe Biden and cabinet member Arne Duncan had expressed support for gay unions.

A Gallup poll on Tuesday suggested that 50% of Americans were in favour of legalising gay marriage - a slightly lower proportion than last year - while 48% said they would oppose such a move.

The interview with ABC News was apparently4 hastily arranged as Mr Obama came under mounting pressure to clarify his position on the issue.

"At a certain point, I've just concluded that for me personally it is important for me to go ahead and affirm that I think same-sex couples should be able to get married," Mr Obama told ABC.

He pointed5 to his administration's commitment to increasing rights for gay citizens. He cited the repeal6 of the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy and said his administration had dropped support for the Defense7 of Marriage Act.

"I've stood on the side of broader equality for the LGBT community. I hesitated on gay marriage in part because I thought civil unions would be sufficient," Mr Obama said.

He said he had changed his views after seeing gay members of his own staff who were in "incredibly committed monogamous（一夫一妻的） relationships", and service personnel who felt constrained8 by not being able to wed.

Mr Obama also said discussions with his own family had helped the "evolution" of his views on the issue.

"There have been times where Michelle and I have been sitting around the dinner table and... Malia and Sasha, it wouldn't dawn on them that somehow their friends' parents would be treated differently," Mr Obama said.

"It doesn't make sense to them and frankly9, that's the kind of thing that prompts a change in perspective."


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1 wed MgFwc     
v.娶，嫁，与…结婚
参考例句：
  • The couple eventually wed after three year engagement.这对夫妇在订婚三年后终于结婚了。
  • The prince was very determined to wed one of the king's daughters.王子下定决心要娶国王的其中一位女儿。
2 mitt Znszwo     
n.棒球手套，拳击手套，无指手套；vt.铐住，握手
参考例句：
  • I gave him a baseball mitt for his birthday.为祝贺他的生日，我送给他一只棒球手套。
  • Tom squeezed a mitt and a glove into the bag.汤姆把棒球手套和手套都塞进袋子里。
3 promptly LRMxm     
adv.及时地，敏捷地
参考例句：
  • He paid the money back promptly.他立即还了钱。
  • She promptly seized the opportunity his absence gave her.她立即抓住了因他不在场给她创造的机会。
4 apparently tMmyQ     
adv.显然地；表面上，似乎
参考例句：
  • An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
  • He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。
5 pointed Il8zB4     
adj.尖的，直截了当的
参考例句：
  • He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
  • She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。
6 repeal psVyy     
n.废止，撤消；v.废止，撤消
参考例句：
  • He plans to repeal a number of current policies.他计划废除一些当前的政策。
  • He has made out a strong case for the repeal of the law.他提出强有力的理由，赞成废除该法令。
7 defense AxbxB     
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。
8 constrained YvbzqU     
adj.束缚的,节制的
参考例句：
  • The evidence was so compelling that he felt constrained to accept it. 证据是那样的令人折服，他觉得不得不接受。
  • I feel constrained to write and ask for your forgiveness. 我不得不写信请你原谅。
9 frankly fsXzcf     
adv.坦白地，直率地；坦率地说
参考例句：
  • To speak frankly, I don't like the idea at all.老实说，我一点也不赞成这个主意。
  • Frankly speaking, I'm not opposed to reform.坦率地说，我不反对改革。

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