美国国家公共电台 NPR--What, if anything, might Congress do about years of mass shootings?

What, if anything, might Congress do about years of mass shootings?

Transcript¹

NPR's Steve Inskeep talks to Rep. Joaquin Castro, who represents Texas' 20th District, following Tuesday's school shooting in Uvalde that killed 21 people.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

And let's continue the discussion with Joaquin Castro, a member of Congress representing the 20th District of Texas, just a little bit east of Uvalde. Congressman², welcome to the program.

JOAQUIN CASTRO: Thank you.

INSKEEP: And we'll mention that you're on Skype. Everybody, I think, took a breath yesterday or maybe a gasp³ yesterday and maybe got some sleep. Having had a night to absorb this news, what are you thinking?

CASTRO: Oh, just, you know, absolutely heartbroken and devastated⁴ to see what this gun violence has done to the community of Uvalde. It's a small, tightknit community with wonderful people. And just to see the devastation⁶ and to start to see the faces of the victims come out, it's an overwhelmingly Mexican American community. It's about 80% Mexican American and, you know - just tragedy. As a parent, I dropped my kids off to school, my elementary school kids, about 45 minutes ago, and, you know, just staring at the building and wondering if something like that could happen at my kids' school. I think that's what a lot of parents are thinking about this morning.

INSKEEP: Yeah. What do you make of the repetition of this? It's almost a decade since Sandy Hook. There have been other school shootings in between, along with many other kinds of mass shootings.

CASTRO: Well, it's hard not to come to the conclusion that when this happens over and over in different contexts, in supermarkets, in schools, in churches, in synagogues, that they're a crop of politicians who are OK with these kinds of mass shootings happening. And Congress and state legislatures around the country have had an opportunity to do something to change this, to improve it. And yet - I'll just take the body that I serve in - Senate Republicans and House Republicans have refused to do things like universal background checks that have 90% support of the American people. So the American people are not debating what they believe about this; it's mostly Republican politicians who aren't listening to the American people and are failing to take action.

INSKEEP: Your state's lieutenant⁷ governor would say, I'm not OK with this; I want more security in schools. That was what he suggested as a solution to this. Is that a practical solution?

CASTRO: That's a deflection and a cop-out. The idea that one entry and exit at a school is going to solve all of this and that it's no deeper than that is ridiculous for Dan Patrick to say. And the fact is that after the massacre⁸ in El Paso that claimed the lives of more than 20 people who were also targeted because they were Hispanic - or they were targeted because they were Hispanic, just like African Americans were targeted in Buffalo⁹. That doesn't appear to be the case here, or at least that hasn't been said. But the governor and the state leaders promised to do something about this problem, and instead, Greg Abbott and Dan Patrick made it easier for people to get guns in Texas, including weapons of war that can mow¹⁰ people down, 20 - 15, 20 people in a matter of seconds, before anybody really has a chance to even react.

INSKEEP: Is this, then, fundamentally a matter of future elections - people who disagree with you are in office in too great of numbers for your side to overcome them, and you need to win elections with a different platform?

CASTRO: I mean, yeah. I mean, you have these people who, despite 90% of Americans supporting universal background checks and the House of Representatives having already passed a bill to do that in H.R.8 - you know, they are basically, you know, mesmerized¹¹. They're enslaved to the gun lobby. They're enslaved to the NRA. They're deathly afraid, in a cowardly way, of losing their political jobs, their political careers, if they cross the NRA.

INSKEEP: Let me follow up a little bit on that if I can. I would imagine if one of those lawmakers were here, they might say, I'm actually just representing my constituents¹² who believe in Second Amendment¹³ rights and have strong views about it. I mean, you represent a part of Texas. You probably represent a lot of gun owners yourself.

CASTRO: Sure. No, absolutely.

INSKEEP: What's the political complexity¹⁴ of seeking change and getting enough people behind it?

CASTRO: Well, I mean, look - I think - you're right. There are a lot of gun owners in Texas. And I think when Texans think of guns, they usually think of them in two contexts. No. 1, people want to have a gun in their house in case somebody breaks in at 3 in the morning and tries to harm they or their family members, and they want to protect themselves. And then Texans also want to be able to go and hunt, you know, during deer season or bird season. Those are two of the big things, that self-protection and then sport. But, you know, you've got the governor and the lieutenant governor and other Republicans in Congress, like Ted⁵ Cruz, who don't want to consider even popular measures. When something has 90% American support, that means there's a lot more people besides liberal Democrats¹⁵ who are in favor of it.

INSKEEP: Can I just mention one more thing? You mentioned Ted Cruz. Your Democratic colleague, Ruben Gallego, went on Twitter yesterday and referred to Ted Cruz of your state, Senator Ted Cruz, by saying, quote, "just to be clear, F-you, Ted Cruz, you F-ing baby killer¹⁶." He spelled out the word. Would you approve of that statement, sir?

CASTRO: Well, I mean, look - I mean, it's strong language by Ruben. He's a Marine¹⁷ veteran. And I think he's expressing a lot of the frustration¹⁸ that Americans feel by seeing this over and over and over and politicians not doing anything about it.

INSKEEP: Congressman, thanks for your time. I really appreciate it.

CASTRO: Thank you.

INSKEEP: Joaquin Castro is a member of Congress representing the 20th District of Texas, in and around San Antonio. He joined us via Skype.

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 Congressman   

n.（美）国会议员

参考例句：

• He related several anecdotes about his first years as a congressman.他讲述自己初任议员那几年的几则轶事。
• The congressman is meditating a reply to his critics.这位国会议员正在考虑给他的批评者一个答复。

3 gasp   

n.喘息，气喘；v.喘息；气吁吁他说

参考例句：

• She gave a gasp of surprise.她吃惊得大口喘气。
• The enemy are at their last gasp.敌人在做垂死的挣扎。

4 devastated   

v.彻底破坏( devastate的过去式和过去分词)；摧毁；毁灭；在感情上（精神上、财务上等）压垮adj.毁坏的；极为震惊的

参考例句：

• The bomb devastated much of the old part of the city. 这颗炸弹炸毁了旧城的一大片地方。
• His family is absolutely devastated. 他的一家感到极为震惊。

5 ted   

vt.翻晒，撒，撒开

参考例句：

• The invaders gut ted the village.侵略者把村中财物洗劫一空。
• She often teds the corn when it's sunny.天好的时候她就翻晒玉米。

6 devastation   

n.毁坏；荒废；极度震惊或悲伤

参考例句：

• The bomb caused widespread devastation. 炸弹造成大面积破坏。
• There was devastation on every side. 到处都是破坏的创伤。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 lieutenant   

n.陆军中尉，海军上尉；代理官员，副职官员

参考例句：

• He was promoted to be a lieutenant in the army.他被提升为陆军中尉。
• He prevailed on the lieutenant to send in a short note.他说动那个副官，递上了一张简短的便条进去。

8 massacre   

n.残杀，大屠杀；v.残杀，集体屠杀

参考例句：

• There was a terrible massacre of villagers here during the war.在战争中，这里的村民惨遭屠杀。
• If we forget the massacre,the massacre will happen again!忘记了大屠杀，大屠杀就有可能再次发生！

9 buffalo   

n.(北美)野牛；(亚洲)水牛

参考例句：

• Asian buffalo isn't as wild as that of America's. 亚洲水牛比美洲水牛温顺些。
• The boots are made of buffalo hide. 这双靴子是由水牛皮制成的。

10 mow   

v.割（草、麦等），扫射，皱眉；n.草堆，谷物堆

参考例句：

• He hired a man to mow the lawn.他雇人割草。
• We shall have to mow down the tall grass in the big field.我们得把大田里的高草割掉。

11 mesmerized   

v.使入迷( mesmerize的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The country girl stood by the road, mesmerized at the speed of cars racing past. 村姑站在路旁被疾驶而过的一辆辆车迷住了。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• My 14-year-old daughter was mesmerized by the movie Titanic. 我14岁的女儿完全被电影《泰坦尼克号》迷住了。 来自互联网

12 constituents   

n.选民( constituent的名词复数 )；成分；构成部分；要素

参考例句：

• She has the full support of her constituents. 她得到本区选民的全力支持。
• Hydrogen and oxygen are the constituents of water. 氢和氧是水的主要成分。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 amendment   

n.改正，修正，改善，修正案

参考例句：

• The amendment was rejected by 207 voters to 143.这项修正案以207票对143票被否决。
• The Opposition has tabled an amendment to the bill.反对党已经就该议案提交了一项修正条款。

14 complexity   

n.复杂(性)，复杂的事物

参考例句：

• Only now did he understand the full complexity of the problem.直到现在他才明白这一问题的全部复杂性。
• The complexity of the road map puzzled me.错综复杂的公路图把我搞糊涂了。

15 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

16 killer   

n.杀人者，杀人犯，杀手，屠杀者

参考例句：

• Heart attacks have become Britain's No.1 killer disease.心脏病已成为英国的头号致命疾病。
• The bulk of the evidence points to him as her killer.大量证据证明是他杀死她的。

17 marine   

adj.海的；海生的；航海的；海事的；n.水兵

参考例句：

• Marine creatures are those which live in the sea. 海洋生物是生存在海里的生物。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

18 frustration   

n.挫折，失败，失效，落空

参考例句：

• He had to fight back tears of frustration.他不得不强忍住失意的泪水。
• He beat his hands on the steering wheel in frustration.他沮丧地用手打了几下方向盘。