VOA常速英语:50年后，同性恋维权积极分子仍在冲锋陷阵

Alexei Romanoff doesn’t speak Russian, he was 4 years old when his mother brought him to the United States.At the age of nine, he made a startling discovery: he was attracted to boys.
Alexei Romanoff 并不会说俄罗斯语。在他4岁的时候，妈妈把他带到了美国。九岁那年，他有一个惊奇的发现：他喜欢上了男孩子。

Seventy years ago, homosexuality was considered a psychiatric illness in America.If you acted on your impulses, you could have been sent to a hospital or jailed for "lewd conduct."
70年前，同性恋在美国被认为是精神疾病。如果你意气用事，你就会因“淫荡行为”被送进医院或监狱。

“I had two friends, Steve and Sal, they were lovers, they lived together, they were in a bar.And Sal was sitting in a chair and Steve was standing over him,and they were talking and talking to a couple of other people, and they were drinking.It was a beer bar in those days in California, in Silver Lake, and they were drinking.And he had looked away and talked to somebody, and his glass tipped, and it spilled a little onto Sal,and he went like this, he brushed his chest off, Sal’s chest.And there were two vice officers in there, and they arrested them for lewd conduct.”
“我有两个朋友，Steve和Sal. 他们是一对情侣，住在一起。他们在一个酒吧里。Sal坐在椅子上，Steve站在他的身边。他们在和其他人一起说话喝酒。那是一个在加利福尼亚银湖的啤酒吧。他们喝着酒。Steve扭头和别人说话。他歪着他的玻璃杯，酒洒在了Sal的身上。然后他就这样，用手掸掉洒在Sal胸口的酒。正好有两个副军官在那儿。他们以淫荡行为为由，逮捕了这两个人。”

On New Year’s Eve in 1967, just at the stroke of midnight,policemen burst into the Black Cat gay bar and arrested 14 people who were celebrating with a kiss.In response, hundreds of gays and supporters took to the streets in what is thought to be the first mass gay rights demonstration.Alexie was one of its organizers.
1967年的新年前夜，午夜钟声敲响的时候，警察冲进了黑猫同性恋酒吧，逮捕了14个正在亲吻庆祝的人。结果，上百个同性恋者和支持者走上街头示威。这就是第一个大规模的同性恋维权游行。Alexie是其中的一个组织者。

“I was sick and tired of being sick and tired, and we had to do something to change the status quo.”
“我烦透了。我们必须做点儿什么去改变现状。”

Over the last 15 years some states have legalized same-sex marriage.Alexei and his partner David made their relationship legal in 2008,they say that marriage was necessary for them to protect each other legally.
在过去的15年，一些州已经将同性婚姻合法化。Alexei 和他的爱人 David在2008年确立了他们的合法关系。他们说，用婚姻来合法的保护彼此很有必要。

“We found that out once when I was in a hospital, I nearly died from a ruptured aneurysm.I was taken to the hospital by ambulance,Alexei followed and he was denied admission to me in the emergency room because he wasn’t my spouse. ”
“有一次我进医院了，我差点因为血管瘤破裂死掉。我被急救车拉进医院。Alexei也跟着我，但是他被禁止进入急救室看我，因为他不是我的配偶。”

In June of 2015, same-sex marriage became legal in the whole country. But there are still no laws prohibiting discrimination against sexual minorities.
2015年6月，同性婚姻在全国范围内合法化。但是没有法律禁止对这群少数人的歧视。

“In the majority of the States of the U.S., it is legal to fire me or to deny me housing because I am gay."
“在美国的大部分州，人们可以因为我是同性恋而解雇我或者拒绝给我房子住，这是合法的。”

Over the weekend, gay activists went to the street not just to celebrate gay pride but also to call for civil rights for all,gays, women and immigrants. And in the lane, the grand marshal of the parade was Alexie.He and the marches across the country hope that message will be heard loud and clear.
在周末，同性恋活动分子来到街道上，不仅是为他们的同性恋骄傲喝彩，更是为所有人呼吁公民权力，不管是同性恋、女人还是移民。Alexie是此次游行的总领导者。他和遍及全国的游行队伍希望他们的声音可以被清晰的听到。