WHAT do Arkansas and Idaho have in common? Both have rural charm—Idaho’s licence plates even boast of its “Famous Potatoes”. Both vote Republican in presidential elections. And both have just legalised gay marriage.

In both states, the decision was made by a judge rather than voters, and could be reversed. But it is getting harder to see same-sex nuptials as an odd new custom confined to coastal liberal bastions. If the new rules in Arkansas and Idaho stand, that would make it 19 states plus Washington, DC that now recognise marriage equality. Over 70 lawsuits, in nearly every state that does not yet allow gay marriage, are working their way through the courts, encouraged by a Supreme-Court ruling last year striking down the federal Defence of Marriage Act.

It has all happened faster than campaigners dared to hope. In Arkansas, a state constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage passed ten years ago with 75% of the vote. Social conservatives were elated, expecting the law to stand indefinitely. But on May 9th Chris Piazza, a circuit judge in Pulaski County, ruled the ban unconstitutional.

Religious conservatives were shocked. Mike Huckabee, an ex-governor of Arkansas, called for Judge Piazza to be impeached. Jerry Cox, president of the Arkansas Family Council, said: “The marriage of one man to one woman has been a cornerstone of western civilisation for thousands of years... once people start redefining marriage, there seems to be no place to stop.”(Economist)

翻译：

美国阿肯色州和爱达荷州有什么相同之处?他们都拥有迷人的田园风光—爱达荷州的汽车牌照甚至还炫耀自己“有名的土豆”。他们都在总统大选中投了共和党人的票，而且都把同性婚姻合法化了。

在这两个州，这个决定都是由法官下的，而不是选举人，而且决定可以被撤销。现在同性恋婚姻已经越来越难以被认为仅仅是局限在沿海自由堡垒的风俗了。如果阿肯色州和爱达荷州的新条例成立的话，这将会使十九个州包括华盛顿承认婚姻平等。如今共有超过七十起分布在几乎所有尚未允许同性婚姻的州的法律诉讼正在通过法庭努力，它们受到了去年最高法院裁决的鼓励，该裁决驳回了“联邦婚姻保护法案”—一项禁止联邦政府承认同性婚姻的法案。

事情变化如此之快，而这甚至超过了同性婚姻呼吁者的预期。在阿肯色州，一个禁止同性婚姻的州宪法修正案于十年前获得75%的选票通过。社会保守派人士对此欢欣鼓舞，期待该法案无限期有效。但在5月9号一名普瓦斯基郡的巡回法官克里斯·皮亚萨裁决这个禁令违宪。

宗教保守派都非常震惊。阿肯色州的一名前州政府官员麦克·赫卡比呼吁控告皮亚萨法官。阿肯色州家族委员会的主席杰里·考克斯说：“男人与女人之间的婚姻几千年来都是西方文明的基石…一旦人们开始重新给婚姻下定义，看起来就不会再停止了。”