经济学人426:枪支管制 射向脑袋的子弹

 　　Gun control

　　枪支管制

　　Bullets to the head

　　射向脑袋的子弹

　　Why James Brady's shooting led to gun control, but Gabby Giffords's did not

　　为什么James Brady的矛头直指枪支管制而Gabby Gifford的却没有

　　WHEN James Brady, who at the time was Ronald Reagan's press secretary, was shot in the head during a failed assassination¹ attempt on the president in 1981, newscasts reported that he was dead. This proved premature²: Mr Brady died on August 4th. After the shooting, he went on to become the country's most successful advocate for gun control. Under a law that bears his name, over 2m applications for firearm purchases have been turned down after background checks revealed that their owners were not the sorts of people to be trusted with a Glock. Since Gabby Giffords, a congresswoman fromArizona, was shot in the head in 2011, no federal gun-control laws have passed. The different responses reveal much about what has changed in the triangular³ relationship between Americans, guns and politicians between the two shootings.

　　时任里根总统新闻秘书的James Brady在1981年一次针对总统的失败刺杀中头部中弹，新闻报道说他死了。这份报道后被证实有点早“Brady8月4日才死亡。在枪击事件后，他接着成为了全国最成功的枪支管制拥护者。在一份以他的姓名起草的法令下，超过两百万申请军火购买许可证的申请被拒绝，原因是他们的背景审查揭露他们这些买家不是那些值得信赖的枪支持有者。自从2011年亚利桑那州的国会女议员Gabby Giffords被枪击头部后，再也没有通过的联邦枪支管制法案。不同的回应声反映出了美国国民，枪支制造商以及政客们针对两起枪击事件的三角关系变化。

　　Congress has passed laws that make it impossible to know for sure how many Americans own guns, but polling data suggest that the number who do has decreased since Mr Brady was shot. Rather than make it easier to pass laws, this has made it harder: small, energetic groups have more sway over Congress than ones that are larger and more diffuse⁴. It took 12 years from the shooting of Mr Brady to the passing of background checks, so it is too early to conclude that Mrs Giffords's wounds will not eventually result in something similar, such as a ban on the kind of oversized magazines that her shooter used. But the chances of that look remote.

　　国会已通过法令，这也就不可能确切查明有多少美国人持枪，但是民意调查显示自从Brady被枪击后持枪人数已经下滑。与更简单的通过法案相比，这种做法更难：小型的，有能力的各个社团对国会的影响盖过那些更大型，更广泛的社团。通过背景审查法案从Brady枪击事件后算起花了12年时间，因此得出Glifford的枪伤不会最终开出类似果实的结论还为时过早，比如禁止射击她的凶手所使用的那种大口径子弹。但是可能性看起来很低。

　　枪支管制.jpg

　　One reason is the pattern that follows high-profile shootings. After the murder of 20 children and six adults at a school inNewtown,Connecticutin 2012, the National Rifle Association (NRA), the biggest group representing gun owners, claims that its membership increased. This is not as strange as it seems. Shootings that make headlines lead to calls for gun control. Though these mostly fail, they provoke a pushback from pro-gun groups, which warn their members of federal plots to take their guns away. Though some states passed gun-control measures in the year after theNewtownmassacre, many others ended up with more permissive laws than before. Gun enthusiasts⁵ have had particular success with laws that allow people to carry concealed⁶ weapons, leading to a boom in sales of specially-made shirts that allow their wearers to draw quickly.

　　一方面原因是紧跟这种模式的是高知名度的枪击事件。位于纽镇一所学校的20名孩子与6名成年人被谋杀后，2012年康乃狄克州的国家步枪协会作为代表枪支持有者的最大社团，宣称它的会员数量上涨。这并不像它看起来那样奇怪。枪击事件使得头条新闻趋向于呼吁枪支管制。尽管这些很有可能无效，他们还是使得支持枪械的社团退让，警告联邦其他州，正计划取消他们的枪械持有权。尽管一些州在纽镇屠杀案那年通过了一些枪支管制措施，很多州相对于以前停用了更多的枪支许可法。枪支信徒们则对法律许可人们携带隐藏武器有着特殊的成就，这也导致能快速拔出武器的特制上衣销量大增。

　　Polling by Pew suggests that three-quarters of NRA members support the expansion of background checks to cover purchases made at gun shows or online, a loophole in the Brady law. The organisation's bosses, however, take any measure that restricts access to guns to be a small step towards a final destination of anAmericadisarmed. Its scorecards are the most popular way for voters to assess a candidate's soundness on guns, so congressmen often vote with them in mind, even if that means voting against laws that most NRA members support. Such was the case with a modest bipartisan attempt at federal gun control in the wake ofNewtown. Like so many before, it failed.

　　根据皮尤民调显示四分之三的步枪协会会员支持扩大背景调查以涵盖枪支展览或是网上购枪，这也是Brady法案的漏洞。然而，协会的老大们采取了一切手段去限制那些缩小枪支许可范围的举措，以防他们最终导致美国无枪化。选民评价候选人对于枪械公正性最流行的方法就是看计分板，因此国会议员们经常时刻记住给他们投票，甚至即使这意味着投票反对大部分步枪协会会员们支持的法律。紧随纽镇案，这种两党间的对于联邦枪械管制温和举动就是这样的例子。如同之前诸多案例一样，它失败了。

1 assassination   

n.暗杀；暗杀事件

参考例句：

• The assassination of the president brought matters to a head.总统遭暗杀使事态到了严重关头。
• Lincoln's assassination in 1865 shocked the whole nation.1865年，林肯遇刺事件震惊全美国。

2 premature   

adj.比预期时间早的；不成熟的，仓促的

参考例句：

• It is yet premature to predict the possible outcome of the dialogue.预言这次对话可能有什么结果为时尚早。
• The premature baby is doing well.那个早产的婴儿很健康。

3 triangular   

adj.三角（形）的，三者间的

参考例句：

• It's more or less triangular plot of land.这块地略成三角形。
• One particular triangular relationship became the model of Simone's first novel.一段特殊的三角关系成了西蒙娜第一本小说的原型。

4 diffuse   

v.扩散；传播；adj.冗长的；四散的，弥漫的

参考例句：

• Direct light is better for reading than diffuse light.直射光比漫射光更有利于阅读。
• His talk was so diffuse that I missed his point.他的谈话漫无边际，我抓不住他的要点。

5 enthusiasts   

n.热心人，热衷者( enthusiast的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• A group of enthusiasts have undertaken the reconstruction of a steam locomotive. 一群火车迷已担负起重造蒸汽机车的任务。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Now a group of enthusiasts are going to have the plane restored. 一群热心人计划修复这架飞机。 来自新概念英语第二册

6 concealed   

a.隐藏的，隐蔽的

参考例句：

• The paintings were concealed beneath a thick layer of plaster. 那些画被隐藏在厚厚的灰泥层下面。
• I think he had a gun concealed about his person. 我认为他当时身上藏有一支枪。