愛爾蘭就同性戀婚姻合法化舉行公投

For months, Ireland has debated whether to legalize gay marriage. Now it's time to vote, and the choice is a simple yes or no.

愛爾蘭就是否規(guī)定同性戀婚姻合法化問題已經(jīng)爭論了數(shù)月之久?，F(xiàn)在終于開始了投票，而選項也非常簡單，“是”還是“否”。

Friday's referendum on amending the Irish constitution to give marriage rights to homosexuals is expected to be approved, based on all opinion polls that have given "yes" voters a double-digit lead throughout the two-month campaign.

周五的公投顯示修改愛爾蘭法律認定同性戀婚姻合法規(guī)定有望通過。根據(jù)民意調(diào)查在兩個月的辯論中支持婚姻合法化的投票以兩位數(shù)領(lǐng)先。

But government officials and gay rights activists are expressing caution given Ireland's track record in producing surprise referendum results. They say achieving a high voter turnout is crucial, particularly among younger citizens who traditionally don't vote in great numbers. Leaders of the country's dominant faith, Roman Catholicism, have fueled opposition to the measure.

但是政府方面和同性戀權(quán)利活動者表示對這種小道消息還是不要太認真。他們說最后獲得較高的投票才是最關(guān)鍵的，尤其是年輕選民，傳統(tǒng)上這類選民的投票數(shù)量都不是很高。愛爾蘭主要宗教天主教領(lǐng)袖完全不贊成這一做法。

Polls opened at 7 a.m. and close at 10 p.m. Results will be announced Saturday.

投票站在早上7點開門，晚上10點關(guān)門。投票結(jié)果將于周六宣布。