英語趣味課堂：同性戀婚姻-Gay Marriage

Adria: So New Mexico like you said, it's pretty conservative. What are the gay marriage laws or are there any gay marriage laws in New Mexico?

Shiloh: Well it's illegal in the state of New Mexico to receive a gay marriage. You can't receive a marriage licence if you're a gay couple. That being said, my town especially, Santa Fe, is a haven for lesbian couples. We have very many lesbians in my town. Generally we get along pretty well. Although my state is a very conservative Republican state, I live in kind of an enclave of liberalism and I have issues with it and I think that this is pretty standard for most Republicans. I have religious issues with it and moral issues with gay marriage. I personally don't think it's right. I think that marriage between a man and a woman is something that's more than just a legal contract but it's an important moral connection that you have and I think that it should still be illegal to marry another man or another woman.

Adria: That's interesting. I have, I think, the opposing view but like I said I'm from Kentucky, it's very conservative so yeah gay marriage isn't legal in Kentucky and actually homosexuals are largely discriminated against in my state but personally I think homosexuals should be allowed to marry and actually I saw a really funny Facebook status about supporting gay marriage and it said some stars have nine divorces and Britney Spears was married for fifty five hours so saying that there's a sacredness to marriage is kind of an oxymoron since it's been bastardized so much over the last couple of years so it's an interesting issue. Definitely something we'll have to talk about more.

What are your ideas on abortion?

Shiloh: Also they are similar to gay marriage. Abortion is against my religion, I have very strong convictions against abortion. I think that it's basically murdering a child. It doesn't matter what stage of development the baby's in, a live person is still a live person and I think it's immoral to abort a child. Also I think it's problematic because it's just a way to cover up your mistakes. You did something wrong, maybe it's not immoral, but you screwed up, you don't want to have to suffer the consequences for something that you did and I think in that sense it's really disappointing when people have abortions because they're choosingthe easy way out and I think it's amazing to have a child and it can change your life for the better and it's just a natural progression of life. People have kids, even if you don't want to have a child, hey you have to understand it, it's going to happen and you have to live with it and make the best of it and it'll probably change your life for the better and it's sad to see unborn babies being aborted and they're never going to grow up, they're never going to have a life, they're never going to change their parents' life and their parents are never going to have the opportunity to raise a child.

Adria: Well, I would say my opinion also differs from that. Maybe as a woman I see it differently so I kind of support feminism rather largely. So I kind of feel like a woman has the right to choose what she wants to do with her body and you mentioned that a woman has to live or somebody has to live with their choice but the man doesn't have to live with his choice because he doesn't have to go through nine months of pregnancy and then eighteen years of raising a child because at least in poor communities the father is more likely to leave and so then the woman has to deal with that. And with that being said, I did grow up in a Catholic household and I went to an all girls Catholic high school and I think over the years I"ve become more conservative on the issue and I don't like the idea of abortion and I kind of disagree with it in some respects but I do understand that people have the right to do what they want with their own body and many Democrats feel that, you know, a woman should be able to have her own bodily rights, and also that also especially as far as health care is concerned that abortion should be included in health care and you know, be considered a normal medical practice.

重點詞匯：

Learn Vocabulary from the lesson

discriminate against

Homosexuals are largely discriminated against in my state.

People who are discriminated against are treated differently and in a negative way, than most other people. Notice the following:

Immigrants are often discriminated against.

It's against the law to discriminate against someone because of race, religion or sex.

oxymoron

Britney Spears was married for fifty five hours so saying that there's a sacredness to marriage is kind of an oxymoron.

An oxymoron is two words used together that seem to have opposite meaning. Notice the following:

'pretty ugly' is a classic oxymoron.

'Seriously funny' is in fact a funny example of an oxymoron.

screw up

You did something wrong, maybe it's not immoral, but you screwed up.

When we screw up, that means we do something wrong or make a mistake. Notice the following:

I really screwed up at work yesterday.

He screwed up big time!

suffer the consequences

You don't want to have to suffer the consequences for something that you did.

We use the phrase 'suffer the consequences' to talk about a negative result of our actions. Notice the following:

If you're late, you'll have to suffer the consequences.

He had to suffer the consequences of his mistake.

the easy way out

They're choosing the easy way out.

Choosing the easy way out of a situation is the way that is least difficult for us. Notice the following:

I'm lazy. I always look for the easy way out.

The easy way out is not always the best way.