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英语新闻：奥巴马支持同性恋婚姻引争议

时间：2012-05-12 07:18:03

（单词翻译:单击）

Barack Obama has been both praised and criticised a day after he became the first sitting US president to publicly support gay marriage.

奥巴马成为美国首位在位的公开支持同性恋婚姻的总统，为此他同时遭到了赞扬与批评。

Social conservatives and religious leaders condemned1 his remarks.

Meanwhile, the Obama campaign attacked Republican Mitt2 Romney, who restated his opposition3 to same-sex marriage, as out of touch on the issue.

Mr Obama travelled to the West Coast on Thursday for fundraisers in Seattle and Los Angeles likely to raise millions.

One fundraiser, to be held at the home of George Clooney, is expected on its own to raise $15m (£9.3m), partially4 from a general raffle5 offering members of the public the chance to meet the Hollywood actor.

In the wake of his interview with ABC News, gay advocates applauded Mr Obama's remarks.

Human Rights Campaign President Joe Solmonese said that the president's comments would "inspire thousands more conversations around kitchen tables and in church pews".

'Deeply saddening'

But Cardinal6 Timothy Dolan, president of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops7, labelled Mr Obama's remarks "deeply saddening".

"We cannot be silent in the face of words or actions that would undermine the institution of marriage, the very cornerstone of our society," he said in a statement. "The people of this country, especially our children, deserve better."

On Thursday morning, the Obama campaign sought to capitalise on the president's political gamble by releasing an internet video titled Mitt Romney: Backwards8 on Equality.

It shows a clip of Mr Romney, the Republican who is expected to challenge Mr Obama for the White House in November, saying on Wednesday that he opposes gay marriage.

The video says that even former Republican President George W Bush supported civil unions, a step short of marriage.

On Wednesday evening, the Republican-controlled House of Representatives moved to reinforce the Clinton-era Defense9 of Marriage Act (Doma).

By 245-171, lawmakers voted to prevent the justice department from using taxpayer10 funds to actively11 oppose the act, which prevents gay marriages from being recognised at the federal level.

Mr Obama ordered the department to stop actively defending Doma in February 2011.

The vote's sponsor, Kansas Republican Tim Huelskamp, said it was not Mr Obama's "prerogative12" to decide "which laws matter and which do not".

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1 condemned condemned     
adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词
参考例句：
  • He condemned the hypocrisy of those politicians who do one thing and say another. 他谴责了那些说一套做一套的政客的虚伪。
  • The policy has been condemned as a regressive step. 这项政策被认为是一种倒退而受到谴责。
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 opposition eIUxU     
n.反对，敌对
参考例句：
  • The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
  • The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。
4 partially yL7xm     
adv.部分地，从某些方面讲
参考例句：
  • The door was partially concealed by the drapes.门有一部分被门帘遮住了。
  • The police managed to restore calm and the curfew was partially lifted.警方设法恢复了平静，宵禁部分解除。
5 raffle xAHzs     
n.废物，垃圾，抽奖售卖；v.以抽彩出售
参考例句：
  • The money was raised by the sale of raffle tickets.这笔款子是通过出售购物彩券筹集的。
  • He won a car in the raffle.他在兑奖售物活动中赢得了一辆汽车。
6 cardinal Xcgy5     
n.(天主教的)红衣主教；adj.首要的，基本的
参考例句：
  • This is a matter of cardinal significance.这是非常重要的事。
  • The Cardinal coloured with vexation. 红衣主教感到恼火，脸涨得通红。
7 bishops 391617e5d7bcaaf54a7c2ad3fc490348     
（基督教某些教派管辖大教区的）主教( bishop的名词复数 )； （国际象棋的）象
参考例句：
  • Each player has two bishops at the start of the game. 棋赛开始时，每名棋手有两只象。
  • "Only sheriffs and bishops and rich people and kings, and such like. “他劫富济贫，抢的都是郡长、主教、国王之类的富人。
8 backwards BP9ya     
adv.往回地，向原处，倒，相反，前后倒置地
参考例句：
  • He turned on the light and began to pace backwards and forwards.他打开电灯并开始走来走去。
  • All the girls fell over backwards to get the party ready.姑娘们迫不及待地为聚会做准备。
9 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。
10 taxpayer ig5zjJ     
n.纳税人
参考例句：
  • The new scheme will run off with a lot of the taxpayer's money.这项新计划将用去纳税人许多钱。
  • The taxpayer are unfavourably disposed towards the recent tax increase.纳税者对最近的增加税收十分反感。
11 actively lzezni     
adv.积极地，勤奋地
参考例句：
  • During this period all the students were actively participating.在这节课中所有的学生都积极参加。
  • We are actively intervening to settle a quarrel.我们正在积极调解争执。
12 prerogative 810z1     
n.特权
参考例句：
  • It is within his prerogative to do so.他是有权这样做的。
  • Making such decisions is not the sole prerogative of managers.作这类决定并不是管理者的专有特权。