同性婚姻问题与美国政治

随着美国同性恋权利运动的发展,美国社会对同性恋的接受程度不断提高,但在同性婚姻问题上仍陷入分裂状态。美国有关同性婚姻的争议主要是围绕同性恋者是否拥有结婚权,以及同性婚姻是否享有与异性婚姻同等的法律权利和经济、社会福利而展开的,这一争议实质上反映了两种不同的文化和道德价值观及传统的婚姻观与平等权之间的冲突。与其他道德价值观问题一样,在同性婚姻问题上,不同党派、意识形态、种族族裔、宗教信仰、性别、年龄、地区的美国人的态度有明显的差别。对于美国政治而言,同性婚姻问题已经成为区分民主、共和两党的标志性问题,也是近几次总统选举中的重要议题之一和选举战略的一个"楔子议题"。

Same-Sex Marriage Issue and American Politics

The issue of same-sex marriage is highly controversial in the makingof American public policy,and very complex and sensitive in current American politics.From the perspective of party politics and electoral politics,and based on a historical survey of the evolution of same-sex issue,this article holds that with the development of LGBT rights movement,public acceptance of homosexuality and equal rights for gay people has been growing,but American society still split on the same-sex marriage issue.The disputes over same-sex marriage are about whether gay and lesbian couples should have the right to marry,and whether gay marriage should be granted federal-sanctioned bene fits equal to heterosexual spouses.The controversy,in reality,reflects two different cultural and moral values and indicates conflicts between traditional views on marriage and modern views on equal rights.Toward same-sex marriage,there are remarkable different attitudes in the areas of American political parties,ideology,race,ethnicity,religion,gender,age,and regions.For American politics,the same-sex marriage issue is one of defining issues for two major parties’ images and an important part and a "wedge issue" inpresi dential elections.