『伴隨著同性戀婚姻正式寫入法案，紐約成為了美國又一個承認同性戀婚姻合法的州。』

　　Gay marriage

　　New York says "I do"

　　紐約承認同性婚姻合法

　　June 27th 2011 | from The Economist

　　TIMING  is everything. Forty-two years, almost to the day, after the Stonewall riots ; some 36 hours before the gay-pride  march; and two years after a failed attempt, New York became the sixth and most populous  state to legalise  same-sex marriage. Late Friday night New York's senate  passed the Marriage Equality bill by a 33-29 vote. New York's governor, Andrew Cuomo, who made gay marriage a top priority of his first term , signed it into law at 11:55 pm. It will go into effect on July 24th.

　　The Senate is Republican-controlled, and the bill passed when four Republicans joined the 29 Democrats who supported it. One, Mark Grisanti of Buffalo, opposed gay marriage for religious reasons, but could not justify denying equal rights to gay couples. Roy McDonald, another Republican from upstate New York , told reporters on June 16th that he was going to support same-sex marriage, and that everything is not black and white or good and bad.

　　For months, Mr Cuomo cajoled, pressured, leaned on and in recent weeks enthusiastically negotiated with legislators to get the bill passed.  He worked closely with gay-rights groups who spent millions on the advocacy campaign. Commercials featuring athletes, politicians and celebrities advocating support for the bill flooded the airwaves.  The most effective were the ones starring  regular New Yorkers with gay relatives: the parents who wanted their son to marry his long-time partner, a second-world-war veteran who wants to see his grandson marry whomever he wants. 

　　The 2m energetic onlookers  at Sunday’s gay-pride march down Fifth Avenue hugged, hollered , danced and cheered. One onlooker observed, “This year has more energy than other years.”  Loud cheers were directed at an elderly gay couple, sitting in a rickshaw , celebrating 54 years together. The noise went up several decibels  when New York’s police department’s marching band played “Here Comes the Bride”.  The loudest cheers were reserved for Mr Cuomo who was accompanied by Michael Bloomberg, New York’s mayor, who waved a rainbow flag, and by Christine Quinn, the openly gay New York City Council Speaker. Hundreds of marchers carried signs that read “Promise Kept” on one side and “Thank you Governor Cuomo” on the other.

　　In 2009, the last time the bill was sent to Albany, it was rejected soundly. Not a single Republican supported it and eight Democrats voted no. One noted that 73% of his constituents were opposed to gay marriage in 2009, but this year 80% supported it. Recent polls  show that nearly 60% of New Yorkers are in favour of same-sex marriage. Nationally, the number supporting marriage equality hovers around  50%, but polls also show that a majority of younger voters support it. Success in New York will undoubtedly help give advocates a boost in Oregon, Maine, Washington and Maryland, all of which are considering similar measures.

　　Essential to New York’s passage were measures exempting religious organisations from having to participate in same-sex marriages and protecting them from discrimination lawsuits.  Still, this did not satisfy Catholic leaders. Nicolas DiMarzio, bishop of Queens and Brooklyn, said that “Governor Cuomo has opened a new front in the culture wars that are tearing at the fabric of our nation .” He also called on  Catholic schools and parishes to ban gay-marriage supporters from speaking at their events.

　　Catholic churches will probably remain gay-wedding free for some time, but marriages at restaurants, hotels and catering halls are likely to begin later this summer. And, according to a 2009 report by the New York City comptroller, gay marriages could generate up to $210m for the state's economy over three years. (655 words)

  timing /taImIN/ n. 時間的選擇（或安排）；時機的掌握
  Stonewall Riot: 石墻騷亂，1969年發(fā)生于美國紐約州石墻酒吧，是美國歷史上同性戀首次反對政府歧視，以爭取同性戀合法權(quán)益的運動。
  gay-pride：同性戀在獲得社會認可后所表現(xiàn)出的強烈的自尊心。
  populous /5pCpjUlEs/ adj. 人口多的；人口稠密的
  legalise / 5li:gElaIz/ v. 使合法化
  senate /5senIt/ n. 參議員
  term /t\:m/ n. 任期
  upstate New York: 紐約州北部地區(qū)。
  數(shù)月以來，庫默州長為使該法案通過，不惜對立法官員采取哄騙、施壓、威脅等手段，比較近幾個星期更是不辭勞苦地與他們進行談判。cajole意為“勸誘；哄騙”，pressure此處用作動詞，意為“給予……壓力以脅迫其做……”，legislator意為“立法者；立法官”。
  報道運動員、政治家以及社會名流支持法案通過的廣告充斥著各大媒介。commercial意為“廣告”，feature作動詞，意為“報道；特寫”，flood也是動詞，意為“充斥；淹沒”，airwave意為“電視；廣播”
  star /stB:(r)/ v. 使某人擔任主角；由某人主演。
  onlooker /5CnlUkE(r)/ n. 旁觀者
  holler /5hClE(r)/ v. 喊出（某事物）；叫喊
  rickshaw /5rIkFR:/ n. 人力三輪車
  decibel /5desIbel/ n. 分貝
  poll /pEUl/ n. 民意測試；選舉投票
  hover around: 接近某一水平；保持某一水平
  紐約通過承認同性戀合法法案的關(guān)鍵措施在于：他們沒有強迫宗教組織參與到同性婚姻中來，并保護他們不受到歧視同性婚姻的控訴。exempt…from…意為“使某人（某事物）免除或豁免”。