美國：加州通過禁止同性戀結婚提案

Thousands of gay rights supporters took to the streets of Hollywood late Wednesday outraged that California had voted to ban same-sex marriages.

The historic presidential win of Barack Obama, who promises to be far more socially liberal than his predecessor, was therefore a bitter-sweet moment for California's gay community as a simultaneous referendum went against them.

Voters approved the constitutional amendment by a margin of 52.5 to 47.5 percent, according to near complete results.

Known as "Proposition 8," the proposal was trumpeted by conservative groups as the people's way of overturning the legalization of gay marriage back in May.

For the gay community, however, it was a bitter pill to swallow.

Angry crowds thronged the streets in central West Hollywood, the heart of Los Angeles' gay community, chanting slogans and waving signs.

Hundreds also gathered on the steps of San Francisco's City Hall. Some held candles and carried signs that read, "We all deserve the freedom to marry."

The referendum circumventsa California Supreme Court ruling in May that legalizes gay marriage by amending the state constitution to add the phrase: "Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California."

The court's May ruling overturned an earlier plebiscite in 2000, when 61 percent of voters agreed marriage should be defined as only being between a man and a woman.

Fearing that Proposition 8 could be approved, thousands of same-sex couples rushed to tie the knot since June, and especially in the last days.

The ruling now leaves thousands of gay couples in a legal limbo.

Those couples include some celebrity marriages such as comedienne Ellen DeGeneres who wed her long-time girlfriend Portia de Rossi in August.

本週三晚些時候，上萬名同性戀權益擁護者走上好萊塢街頭，抗議加州通過禁止同性戀結婚的提案。

這一提案的投票與美國大選同時進行，所以，此前承諾將在社會問題上更加開放的（民主黨候選人）奧巴馬的當選對於加州的同性戀者們來說，無疑是苦樂參半。

據不完全統計，該提案的支持和反對率分別爲52.5%和47.5%。

這項“第8號提案”推翻了今年五月有關同性戀婚姻合法的裁決，保守派人士稱，該提案的通過是人民的選擇。

然而對於同性戀羣體來說，這無疑是一枚難以下嚥的苦果。

憤怒的抗議者聚集在洛杉磯同性戀聚集區西好萊塢中心的街道上，他們揮舞着標語、高喊口號，以示抗議。

舊金山市政廳門前也聚集了數百名抗議者，一些人拿着蠟燭，手持標語“我們都有結婚的自由。”

“第8號提案”通過修改州憲法的方式，繞過了今年5月加州最高法院做出的同性戀婚姻合法的裁決。今後加州憲法中將加入這一條：在加利福尼亞，只有一男和一女的婚姻纔有效或者被承認。

加州最高法院今年5月份做出的同性戀婚姻合法的裁決推翻了2000年的一次全民表決結果，當時有61%的選民贊成只承認異性婚姻。

由於擔心第8號提案通過，今年6月份以來，有數千對同性伴侶扎堆結婚，尤其在投票的前幾天。

而該法案的通過使加州數千對同性伴侶陷入了尷尬境地。

其中不乏一些名人，如喜劇演員艾倫-德詹尼絲，她剛於今年八月與交往已久的女友波蒂亞•德•羅西結婚

a bitter pill to swallow:(必須吞下去的)苦藥丸, 不能不做的苦事, 不得不忍受的屈辱