雙語:美"反同性戀鬥士"竟是同性戀

【英文原文】

A conservative US state senator who has voted against gay rights measures during his 14 years in office has confessed he is gay。

Republican Roy Ashburn came out during a radio interview in California, where he sits on the state legislature。

He has been on leave since his arrest last week on suspicion of driving under the influence。

Mr Ashburn said his votes reflected the way his constituents wanted him to vote, not his own "internal conflict"。

"I am gay... those are the words that have been so difficult for me for so long," the 55-year-old divorced father-of-four told KERN radio。

Mr Ashburn said he felt the need to address rumours that he had visited a gay nightclub before his arrest on suspicion of drinking and driving in Sacramento on 3 March。

Last year, Mr Ashburn opposed a bill to establish a day of recognition to honour murdered gay rights activist Harvey Milk。

He has also voted in the statehouse against efforts to expand anti-discrimination laws and recognise out-of-state gay marriages。

Mr Ashburn said he does not plan to run for any public office after his term ends later this year。

【中文譯文】

美國著名的反同性戀政客、加州參議員羅伊•阿什本日前在接受採訪時公開承認，自己是一個同性戀。據美國媒體9日報道，14年來，阿什本一直強烈反對同性戀權益，他眼下的這一表態簡直就是一個絕妙的諷刺。

去年，阿什本還曾牽頭抵制過一項議案，這項議案主張爲被謀殺的同性戀權利活動家哈維•米爾克設立紀念日。現年55歲的阿什本有4個孩子，之前從來沒有人對他的性取向產生過懷疑。然而，3月3日凌晨，阿什本在加州高速公路上因爲涉嫌醉酒駕駛而被逮捕，他的車上還載有一個不明身份的男子，據說兩人之前曾去過薩克拉門託同性戀酒吧。

這一事件頓時在美國引起熱議，很多人都懷疑阿什本是一個同性戀，他所提出的那麼多反同性戀法案可以說是在美國政壇鬧了個大笑話。面對民衆的巨大壓力，阿什本不得不在科恩電臺節目上承認了自己的同性戀身份。他對保守的脫口秀主持人英格•巴克斯說道：“我是一個同性戀……對我而言，說出這句話實在是太難了。”阿什本接着表示，他一直努力把私生活和職業生涯分開來，“很多人都介意我是不是同性戀，但我不認爲事情有什麼變化，我仍將堅持我的政治原則。”阿什本還懇求民衆能原諒他。

阿什本本人聲稱，在他本屆參議員任期結束後，他不會再競選任何公職。