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進入《中英對照讀新聞》India’s Supreme Court strikes down law that punished gay sex 印度最高法院推翻懲罰同性性行為的法律
印度最高法院推翻懲罰同性性行為的法律，院外的挺同人士歡欣喝采。（法新社）
◎魏國金
India’s Supreme Court on Thursday struck down a colonial-era law that made gay sex punishable by up to 10 years in prison.
印度最高法院週四推翻一條讓同性性行為可處以最高10年徒刑的殖民時期法律。
The 1861 law, a relic of Victorian England that hung on long after the end of British colonialism, was a weapon used to discriminate against India’s gay community, the judges ruled in a unanimous decision. "Constitutional morality cannot be martyred at the altar of social morality,’’ Chief Justice Dipak Misra said, reading the verdict. "Social morality cannot be used to violate the fundamental rights of even a single individual.’’
法官一致裁定，這條1861年的法律—在英國殖民主義結束後仍沿襲許久的維多利亞英國遺緒—是被用來歧視印度同性戀群體的武器。「憲法的道德性不能犧牲在社會道德的祭壇上，」首席法官米斯拉宣讀判決說，「社會道德不能被用來侵犯個人的基本權利。」
In its ruling, the court said sexual orientation was a "biological phenomenon’’ and that discrimination on that basis violated fundamental rights. The law known as Section 377 held that intercourse between members of the same sex was against the order of nature. The five petitioners who challenged the law said it was discriminatory and led to gays living in fear of harassment and persecution.
最高法院在判決中指出，性傾向是「生物現象」，而基於偏見的歧視違反基本權利。被稱為「377條款」的法律認定，同性間的性交違反自然律。挑戰該法的5名原告主張該法具歧視性，導致同性戀者活在被騷擾與迫害的恐懼中。
新聞辭典
strike down：擊倒、廢除。例句：The Supreme Court struck down the juvenile death penalty.（最高法院廢除青少年死刑。）
hang on：持續。例句：The strains of music hung on for a long time.（樂曲聲久久迴盪。）
martyr：受苦、使殉難。例句：He was martyred for his faith.（他為信仰殉道。）
