President Barack Obama's announcement Wednesday that he supports gay marriage boosted the hopes of gay rights groups around the world that other leaders will follow his example, though opponents denounced his switch as a shameless appeal for votes.

Several countries, including Canada, Spain and Argentina, allow same-sex marriage, but far more countries ban it and dozens even prohibit consensual same-sex relations. Gay-rights groups hope Obama's views will inspire more change.

"This is incredibly important, it's excellent news. The United States is a global leader on everything, and that includes gay rights," said Julio Moreira, president of the Rio de Janeiro-based Arco-Iris gay rights group. "This will force other nations like Brazil to move forward with more progressive policies."

Vatican and other religious officials didn't comment, but political leaders and others opposed to gay marriage excoriated Obama. In particular, politicians tied to Pentecostal and Catholic churches have spoken out strongly against same-sex marriage in Latin America.

"Barack Obama is an ethical man and a philosophically confused man," said Peruvian congresswoman Martha Chavez of the conservative Catholic Opus Dei movement. "He knows that marriage isn't an issue only of traditions or of religious beliefs. Marriage is a natural institution that supports the union of two people of different sexes because it has a procreative function."

Religion-based opposition is strong in Egypt's conservative Muslim-dominated society, which rejects same-sex relations. Laws prohibiting "debauchery" or "shameless public acts" have been used to imprison gay men in recent years.

"This is unacceptable, because it is against religion, traditions and against God," said engineer Shady Azer in Cairo. "God created Adam and Eve. He didn't create two Adams or two Eves."

Gay marriage in legal in several countries; most are in Europe but others include Canada and South Africa. Several U.S. states allow it, but voters in many other states, including North Carolina on Tuesday, have banned it with constitutional amendments.

Though Obama's change of heart did not appear to change the battle lines in the debate, those on one side felt they had won a powerful ally.

"We're living in other times where acceptance is growing more and more," said restaurant owner Carlos Santiago in Mexico City's Pink Zone gay district. "It's impossible to hold back a wave, against something that is natural."

【新聞快訊】美國總統(tǒng)奧巴馬日前在接受美國廣播公司采訪時明確表示支持同性婚姻，成為美國歷史上首位公開表態(tài)支持同性婚姻的總統(tǒng)。分析人士認(rèn)為，奧巴馬此番冒險公開表態(tài)是經(jīng)過周密調(diào)查和計劃、且以調(diào)查結(jié)果為依據(jù)的。調(diào)查顯示，越來越多的美國人支持同性婚姻合法化。美國民主黨人士、同性戀權(quán)益組織以及獨立人士均對奧巴馬此舉表示贊賞，稱這是美國邁向平等的一大步；而共和黨活動人士以及一些保守派基督教領(lǐng)袖則指出奧巴馬此舉冒了很大的政治風(fēng)險，會讓那些反對同性婚姻的獨立投票人和基督教人士轉(zhuǎn)而支持羅姆尼。

奧巴馬政府高級官員表示，奧巴馬本打算在今年九月民主黨全國大會前夕宣布支持同性婚姻的立場，不過由于副總統(tǒng)拜登日前在采訪中表態(tài)支持同性婚姻，所以奧巴馬才會提前表態(tài)。不過，奧巴馬在采訪中也表示，支持同性婚姻只是他個人的立場，美國各州仍有權(quán)自行決定其立場。

梵蒂岡以及別的宗教組織還沒有對此事發(fā)表評論，但在諸如埃及這樣的穆斯林國家，反對的聲浪很高漲。有反對者表示：“上帝創(chuàng)造了一個亞當(dāng)和一個夏娃讓他們結(jié)合，而不是創(chuàng)造兩個亞當(dāng)或者兩個夏娃?！蹦壳巴詰倩橐鰞H在加拿大、南非和一些歐洲國家是合法的，在美國內(nèi)部，也只有少數(shù)幾個州支持其合法，而還有好多州比如南卡羅來納州，甚至以憲法修正案的形式規(guī)定同性戀婚姻違法。