美国国家公共电台 NPR--Congress may take action on gun safety legislation after decades of inaction

Congress may take action on gun safety legislation after decades of inaction

Transcript¹

A bipartisan group of senators announced a gun safety deal on Sunday, the most substantial progress on the issue in decades. It had very narrow measures related to gun ownership to garner² GOP support.

A MART?NEZ, HOST:

The nation could soon see Congress take action on gun safety legislation after decades of inaction. A bipartisan group of senators has announced a deal on a proposal that has the support of 10 Republicans - a critical number needed to get any major bill through the 50-50 Democratic-controlled Senate. It's not a done deal, but President Biden praised the early agreement as, quote, "important steps in the right direction." Now, there's no assault weapons ban. An 18-year-old can still buy an assault weapon. And there's no expanded background checks for all firearms sales. So what exactly did these senators agree to? Let's begin this hour with NPR congressional correspondent Susan Davis.

SUSAN DAVIS, BYLINE⁴: This is definitely not as far as gun safety advocates would like to see, but it really is about as good as it can get in an evenly divided Senate. This is still a major breakthrough. It's been a generation since Congress has even come close to passing laws that affect gun ownership. The most significant part of this proposal, based on the outline that was provided by the senators, is that it would make it harder by requiring a more thorough background check for someone under the age of 21 to buy any gun, including high-capacity weapons like AR-15s. They couldn't get them fast.

Senators say it would also incentivize states to pass things called red flag laws that allow members of your family or law enforcement to take away a weapon from someone who could be a danger to themselves or other people. It would also increase penalties for gun traffickers - excuse me - and it would include more money for mental health services. But to be very clear, there is nothing in this bill that would affect how an otherwise law-abiding citizen can get a gun.

MART?NEZ: All right. Now, even if all the details still need to get worked out, what do you make of the reaction?

DAVIS: It's a big deal. I mean, all of the major gun safety groups came out really quickly in favor of this bill. Any progress is good progress is how they see it. Shannon Watts⁵ is the founder⁶ of Moms Demand Action. In a statement, she said the bill would break the logjam in Congress on the gun issue. This is a group that has been lobbying for action on this for more than a decade. And she said they are prepared to, quote, "fight like hell to get this historic deal over the finish line." Even Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell praised the senators who negotiated the deal, but he did stop short of endorsing⁷ it until it's all put into writing.

MART?NEZ: All right, so tell us about that because there's this framework. What has to happen now to turn that into law?

DAVIS: Well, they actually have to write the bill, and that can take several weeks to work out. The lead Democrat³, Chris Murphy - he's from Connecticut. He told Reuters last night that aides are going to start working on that today. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has already said he will bring it up for a vote as soon as it's ready.

One thing to watch is how gun rights groups react. The NRA put out a statement last night basically saying they weren't going to weigh in on it until they see the full bill. But there's a lot of gun rights groups now, and one of them, the Gun Owners of America, attacked Republicans for signing on to this deal yesterday - so watching to see if groups like this can slow down or try to block this bill before it reaches the Senate floor.

This is also a lot less than the House supports. They just passed a far more sweeping⁸ gun control bill. But if the Senate can pass this, it's going to be really hard for the House to reject it, especially with President Biden saying he will sign it, even if it's not everything he wanted either.

MART?NEZ: NPR's Susan Davis. Susan, thanks a lot.

DAVIS: You're welcome.

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 garner   

v.收藏；取得

参考例句：

• He has garnered extensive support for his proposals.他的提议得到了广泛的支持。
• Squirrels garner nuts for the winter.松鼠为过冬储存松果。

3 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

4 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

5 watts   

（电力计量单位）瓦，瓦特( watt的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• My lamp uses 60 watts; my toaster uses 600 watts. 我的灯用60瓦，我的烤面包器用600瓦。
• My lamp uses 40 watts. 我的灯40瓦。

6 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

7 endorsing   

v.赞同( endorse的现在分词 )；在（尤指支票的）背面签字；在（文件的）背面写评论；在广告上说本人使用并赞同某产品

参考例句：

• Yet Communist leaders are also publicly endorsing religion in an unprecedented way. 不过，共产党领导层对宗教信仰的公开认可也是以前不曾有过的。 来自互联网
• Connecticut Independent Senator Joseph Lieberman is endorsing Republican Senator John McCain. 康涅狄格州独立派参议员约瑟夫。列波曼将会票选共和议员约翰。麦凯恩。 来自互联网

8 sweeping   

adj.范围广大的，一扫无遗的

参考例句：

• The citizens voted for sweeping reforms.公民投票支持全面的改革。
• Can you hear the wind sweeping through the branches?你能听到风掠过树枝的声音吗？