California Ruling Opens New Front in Fight Over Same-Sex Marriage

California Ruling Opens New Front in Fight Over Same-Sex Marriage
A ban is overturned in the nation's largest state. Also, in another civil rights case, a federal court rules that America's paper money discriminates against the blind. Transcript of radio broadcast:
23 May 2008


This is IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English.

Two recent court rulings in the United States could have national effects on civil rights issues.

Last week the California Supreme Court rejected that state’s ban on same-sex marriage. A four-to-three majority ruled that same-sex couples have a right to marry under the California Constitution.

Couples from anywhere in the country could get married in the nation's largest state as early as the middle of June. In most cases, however, their marriage would not be recognized back home. The only state where homosexuals can now marry is Massachusetts, and they have to be living there.

Californians will likely vote in November on a proposal to amend their constitution to ban same-sex marriage. Conservative groups want the court to delay its decision until after the elections.

Douglas Kmiec is a constitutional law professor at Pepperdine University in Malibu, California. He predicts that courts in other states will now be faced with similar questions. The issue could end up before the United States Supreme Court.

It could also enter into the presidential campaign. The major candidates -- Democrats Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton and Republican John McCain -- are all against same-sex marriage. But senators Obama and Clinton support civil unions.

Same-sex marriage is legal in Belgium, Canada, the Netherlands, South Africa and Spain.

The second ruling came this week from a federal appeals court in Washington, D.C. It found that America's paper money discriminates against blind people. Bills of different dollar amounts all have the same size and feel, so there is no way to tell them apart by touch.

A panel of three judges voted two-to-one that the government must do something to change its bills. The court agreed with a lower court judge who ruled in two thousand six that redesigning paper money would not be too costly.

The government says it would be. Millions of machines that accept bills would also have to change.

Yet that lower court judge said the United States was the only country to print bills all the same size and color.

More than one million Americans are blind. Millions more have limited vision.

The American Council of the Blind brought the case in two thousand two to seek bills of different sizes or with raised marks.

Many blind people welcomed this week's ruling, but not all. The National Federation of the Blind says it could strengthen misbeliefs about blind people being helpless. It says there are greater needs, like more Braille education and job training.

The government could now ask for a hearing by the full thirteen-member court, which includes a blind judge. Or it could appeal to the Supreme Court.

The Treasury Department says it is exploring ways to help people who are blind or have limited vision. A five-dollar bill released earlier this year has an extra large numeral five on it.

And that's IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English, written by Brianna Blake. I’m Steve Ember.

----------------------------Google Translate

加州执政党开辟了新的战线，在争夺同样的同性婚姻
禁令被推翻在全美最大的国家。此外，在另一项公民权利案件，联邦法院规则，美国的纸钱歧视盲人。全文电台广播：
2008年5月23日

这是在新闻中在美国之音特别英语。

最近的两个法院的裁决，在美国可以影响国家的公民权利问题。

上周，加利福尼亚州最高法院驳回该国的禁令，同时对同性婚姻。 1 4至三多数裁定，同时同性伴侣有结婚的权利，根据加州宪法。

夫妇从任何地点在该国可以结婚，在全美最大的国家，早在6月中旬。在大多数情况下，不过，他们的婚姻将不会得到承认回家乡。唯一的所在国的同性恋者可以结婚，现在是马萨诸塞州，他们都必须生活在那里。

加州可能会在十一月表决一项提案修改宪法，禁止同一同性婚姻。保守团体希望法庭推迟的决定，直到选举结束之后。

道格拉斯kmiec是一个宪制性法律，教授在Pepperdine大学在Malibu ，加利福尼亚州。他预测说，法院在其他国家，现在便面临着类似的问题。这个问题可能最终之前，美国最高法院。

它也可以进入总统竞选。主要候选人-民主党人巴拉克奥巴马和希拉里克林顿和共和党的马侃-都是对相同的同性婚姻。但参议员奥巴马和克林顿支持民间工会。

同时同性婚姻是合法的在比利时，加拿大，荷兰，南非和西班牙。

第二执政党来到这个星期从联邦上诉法院在哥伦比亚特区华盛顿，它发现，美国的纸钱歧视失明人士。条例草案不同的美元数额都一样的大小和感觉，所以是没有出路的告诉他们，除了由触摸。

一个小组由三名法官组成的投两到一，政府必须做一些事来改变其法案。法院同意下级法院的法官裁定，谁在2000六表示，重新设计纸钱成本将不会过于高昂。

政府说会。以百万计的机器接受的法案也将不得不改变。

但是，下级法院的法官说，美国是唯一的国家要打印的法案都一样的大小和颜色。

有100多万美国人是失明。数百万更多的是有限的视野。

美国会失明带来的案件在2000 2寻求法案不同规模的或与提出的马克。

许多失明人士表示欢迎，在本星期的裁决，但不是全部。全国工商联失明人士说，它可以加强misbeliefs约失明人士正在无奈。它说，有更大的需求，想了解更多盲文教育和职业培训。

政府现在可以要求听证的全部13名成员的法庭，其中包括一个盲人法官。或可向最高法院提出上诉。

库务署说，这是探讨如何帮助人们谁是失明或有有限的视野。 1 5美元条例草案公布今年早些时候，有一个特大型的数字5对。

这是在新闻中在美国之音特别英语，写的brianna布雷克。我史蒂夫ember 。