美国国家公共电台 NPR Sorrow, But Little Appetite For New Laws Among Nevada Gun Enthusiasts

 

MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:

The question - the question - that hangs over the investigation¹ here in Vegas is, why? We still don't have a good answer to that, to what motivated Stephen Paddock. But we are slowly gaining insight into another key question. How?

ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST:

Police say Paddock had 23 guns stockpiled at his hotel room. And 12 of them, according to the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, were outfitted² with something called a bump fire stock, a device that lets you fire round after round with a single twitch³ of a finger like a fully⁴ automatic weapon. These revelations have helped reignite a nationwide debate over guns and gun control.

KELLY: Here is one point not in dispute. Gun laws here in the state of Nevada are not strict. You don't need to register your weapon. You can carry a long gun openly close to anywhere you want. And here in Las Vegas, there's a bunch of places where tourists can pay 50 bucks⁵ to shoot an AK-47.

Now, we've just pulled into the parking lot of The Range 702. This is a shooting range - big billboard⁶ out front. You can't miss it from the highway. There's a busty woman holding a machine gun and wearing black lace with the slogan, the ultimate shooting experience. And then just behind that billboard a few hundred yards back is the hotel where the shooting unfolded. You can look straight out. And I'm looking at the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay Hotel.

Inside, we struck out. Nobody wanted to talk to us, so we headed next to Strip Gun Club. As the name suggests, it's on the Strip, the main drag of hotels and casinos. It's across a parking lot from the wedding Chapel⁷ of the Bells.

My name's Mary Louise Kelly. We're journalists from NPR, and we're here reporting on the aftermath of events of Sunday and wondered if there might be somebody we could talk to.

UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: No, we're not doing any media.

KELLY: No media at all.

UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: No. We can't have you guys on the property...

KELLY: Could we...

UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: ...So all the way to the sidewalk, please.

KELLY: All the way to the sidewalk.

UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: Yes.

KELLY: We got this time after time as we tried to investigate the gun culture here. Nobody wanted to talk on the record. Finally we tracked down Don Turner. He's president of the Nevada Firearms Coalition⁸, the state association for the NRA. They represent gun owners, gun users, gun clubs. I asked him, after the massacre⁹ here on Sunday night, should Nevada's gun laws change?

DON TURNER: Putting more new laws on the books is not going to stop it. This has been a conundrum¹⁰ humans have fought with since Cain and Abel. You cannot legislate¹¹ compliance¹² with evil. People are going to be evil. They're going to do evil acts for one reason or another, and there's not any laws in the world would stop them. If we had a total ban on guns, they would've used a semitruck or a bomb.

KELLY: In this case, federal authorities now say that there were 12 bump fire stocks in his room. Bump fire stocks are not illegal. Should they be?

TURNER: I'm not going to comment on that, yes or no. I think there probably should be a discussion on it, but they basically just increase the mechanical rate of fire of a semiautomatic. So any legislation on that issue is going to have to be carefully crafted.

KELLY: But what is the case for them to be legal, for a civilian¹³ to need them?

TURNER: The rule of the law says that a semiautomatic firearm is discharged by a single manipulation of the trigger. But to take a device that will increase the rate of fire to kill people - the bottom line is they're still trying to kill people. And changing the device isn't going to stop the evil in their heart.

KELLY: But could changing the device or limiting the number of weapons that he had have limited the damage, have limited...

TURNER: No.

KELLY: ...The number of people who didn't walk out of that concert alive?

TURNER: No because it's not enforceable. It's just feel-good stuff. That's the problem, is - if we're going to do anything sufficient or effective, it's got to be more related - I would say probably more mental health examinations and services would probably be more effective in saving lives than worrying about a piece of plastic that would or would not go on a gun.

KELLY: But when something like this happens in your city, in your backyard, does it give you pause and think, OK, something needs to change so we don't keep going through this as a country?

TURNER: Of course. I agree completely. Something needs to be changed. But the $60 million question is, what is the something? The bottom line is that there is room in this country and a need in this country for rational discussion based on data but not for irrational¹⁴ proposals based on emotion.

KELLY: That's president of the Nevada Firearms Coalition Don Turner. And one more voice to introduce to this conversation - this is a private citizen, a member of a gun club with about 3,500 members in the suburbs of Las Vegas. We have verified his identity, but he asked us not to use his name on air. He wants to keep his family and his club from being dragged into the headlines. He did tell us he owns a lot of firearms.

How many guns would somebody like you have back at your house?

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: More than one (laughter).

KELLY: As we chatted outside a coffee shop, he added, it's not unusual for, say, hunters in Nevada to own many types of guns.

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: If you are attempting to control coyotes, you might use one caliber¹⁵ rifle. If you were trying to control an explosion of prairie dogs on your farm, it would be another type. If you're hunting elk¹⁶ in one particular type of terrain¹⁷, it would be another choice of caliber.

KELLY: But 23 guns in a hotel room on the Strip.

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: That's crazy. It'd be crazy for there to be one in the hotel room. None of this makes sense to any of us.

KELLY: Fully automatic weapons are highly regulated. They're expensive. But they are not illegal. Should they be?

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: I think one would have to examine the record and see, has a registered automatic weapon ever been used in crime? And if so, how frequently and in what manner? More stringent¹⁸...

KELLY: What's the case, though, that a civilian should ever have these?

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: It's a fair question. Have you ever shot a fully automatic firearm? I've done it under supervision¹⁹ of a range master, and there is an adrenaline rush. One could just as rightly ask, why would someone ever want an 800-horsepower, 300-mile-an-hour roadster?

KELLY: So give us a sense of what the conversation is in the circles that you're moving in here.

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: We've talked about what happened in Florida and Sandy Hook. People have responsibilities when they have firearms. And if you are negligent²⁰ in your responsibilities, I think there should consequences. But I think it would be unfair to punish all firearms owners for the actions of a minority. But was this an awful event? Yes, it was. It was. And I can assure you that gun owners are just as upset if not more upset than the general public.

KELLY: Why more upset?

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: Because it reflects poorly on something that we find enjoyable.

(SOUNDBITE OF ORGAN MUSIC)

KELLY: Across town, guns were also on people's minds inside the whitewashed²¹ walls of Christ Church Episcopal. We sat in on an evening service rushed together to respond to the massacre. There were prayers in English and Spanish, one from a rabbi. Dan Edwards, the Episcopal bishop²² of Nevada, delivered the sermon.

DAN EDWARDS: We have no constitutional right to food. We have no constitutional right to medical care. But we are fanatically jealous of our capacity to kill because that's what makes us heroes. That's what makes us matter. I can kill, therefore I am.

KELLY: Bishop Edwards told me afterwards in the courtyard outside the church, he sees his role as helping²³ people find meaning in this tragedy.

EDWARDS: And the meaning isn't just lying there to be discovered. The meaning is something that with God's grace we create by how we respond and by how we go forward.

KELLY: Last night, the bishop sent people forward into the warm Nevada dark with these words. Quote, "as we have been so painfully reminded, life is short, so be swift to love. Make haste to be kind."

(SOUNDBITE OF ORGAN MUSIC)

1 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

2 outfitted   

v.装备，配置设备，供给服装( outfit的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• They outfitted for the long journey. 他们为远途旅行准备装束。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• They outfitted him with artificial legs. 他们为他安了假腿。 来自辞典例句

3 twitch   

v.急拉，抽动，痉挛，抽搐；n.扯，阵痛，痉挛

参考例句：

• The smell made my dog's nose twitch.那股气味使我的狗的鼻子抽动着。
• I felt a twitch at my sleeve.我觉得有人扯了一下我的袖子。

4 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

5 bucks   

n.雄鹿( buck的名词复数 )；钱；（英国十九世纪初的）花花公子；（用于某些表达方式）责任v.（马等）猛然弓背跃起( buck的第三人称单数 )；抵制；猛然震荡；马等尥起后蹄跳跃

参考例句：

• They cost ten bucks. 这些值十元钱。
• They are hunting for bucks. 他们正在猎雄兔。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 billboard   

n.布告板，揭示栏，广告牌

参考例句：

• He ploughed his energies into his father's billboard business.他把精力投入到父亲的广告牌业务中。
• Billboard spreads will be simpler and more eye-catching.广告牌广告会比较简单且更引人注目。

7 chapel   

n.小教堂，殡仪馆

参考例句：

• The nimble hero,skipped into a chapel that stood near.敏捷的英雄跳进近旁的一座小教堂里。
• She was on the peak that Sunday afternoon when she played in chapel.那个星期天的下午，她在小教堂的演出，可以说是登峰造极。

8 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

9 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！

10 conundrum   

n.谜语；难题

参考例句：

• Let me give you some history about a conundrum.让我给你们一些关于谜题的历史。
• Scientists had focused on two explanations to solve this conundrum.科学家已锁定两种解释来解开这个难题。

11 legislate   

vt.制定法律；n.法规，律例；立法

参考例句：

• Therefore,it is very urgent to legislate for the right of privacy.因此，为隐私权立法刻不容缓。
• It's impossible to legislate for every contingency.为每一偶发事件都立法是不可能的。

12 compliance   

n.顺从；服从；附和；屈从

参考例句：

• I was surprised by his compliance with these terms.我对他竟然依从了这些条件而感到吃惊。
• She gave up the idea in compliance with his desire.她顺从他的愿望而放弃自己的主意。

13 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

14 irrational   

adj.无理性的，失去理性的

参考例句：

• After taking the drug she became completely irrational.她在吸毒后变得完全失去了理性。
• There are also signs of irrational exuberance among some investors.在某些投资者中是存在非理性繁荣的征象的。

15 caliber   

n.能力；水准

参考例句：

• They ought to win with players of such high caliber.他们选手的能力这样高,应该获胜。
• We are always trying to improve the caliber of our schools.我们一直在想方设法提高我们学校的水平。

16 elk   

n.麋鹿

参考例句：

• I was close enough to the elk to hear its labored breathing.我离那头麋鹿非常近，能听见它吃力的呼吸声。
• The refuge contains the largest wintering population of elk in the world.这座庇护所有着世界上数量最大的冬季麋鹿群。

17 terrain   

n.地面，地形，地图

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• He knows the terrain of this locality like the back of his hand.他对这一带的地形了如指掌。

18 stringent   

adj.严厉的；令人信服的；银根紧的

参考例句：

• Financiers are calling for a relaxation of these stringent measures.金融家呼吁对这些严厉的措施予以放宽。
• Some of the conditions in the contract are too stringent.合同中有几项条件太苛刻。

19 supervision   

n.监督，管理

参考例句：

• The work was done under my supervision.这项工作是在我的监督之下完成的。
• The old man's will was executed under the personal supervision of the lawyer.老人的遗嘱是在律师的亲自监督下执行的。

20 negligent   

adj.疏忽的；玩忽的；粗心大意的

参考例句：

• The committee heard that he had been negligent in his duty.委员会听说他玩忽职守。
• If the government is proved negligent,compensation will be payable.如果证明是政府的疏忽，就应支付赔偿。

21 whitewashed   

粉饰，美化，掩饰( whitewash的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The wall had been whitewashed. 墙已粉过。
• The towers are in the shape of bottle gourds and whitewashed. 塔呈圆形，状近葫芦，外敷白色。 来自汉英文学 - 现代散文

22 bishop   

n.主教，（国际象棋）象

参考例句：

• He was a bishop who was held in reverence by all.他是一位被大家都尊敬的主教。
• Two years after his death the bishop was canonised.主教逝世两年后被正式封为圣者。

23 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。