PBS高端访谈:美国步枪协会将会就禁止精神病人使用枪支提出议案

 　　HARI SREENIVASAN, PBS NEWSHOUR WEEKEND ANCHOR:The mass shootings in Aurora¹, Tucson, Newtown and other cities have not led to stricter national gun laws or even tougher background checks, but a new proposal may change that. Texas Republican Senator John Cornyn is sponsoring a bill to help states better report people known to be mentally ill to the FBI database of individuals prohibited from buying guns.

　　Joining me now for more on this development is "Washington Post" reporter Mike DeBonis.

　　So, I remember after in 2013 sort of gun control legislation, after the Newtown massacre² didn't go very far. What's so different about this?

　　MIKE DEBONIS, THE WASHINGTON POST:Sure.Thanks, Hari.

　　It's pretty simple. What's different about this is that this bill has, at least at this point, the backing of the National Rifle Association, which is pretty much a prerequisite³ for getting anything related to guns or background checks or anything related to firearms through this Republican Congress.

　　So, you know, the fact that this is being sponsored by an A-plus rated NRA member, and the fact that, you know, you have a whole different coalition⁴ involving mental health advocates and law enforcement who are also backing this bill, gives it — means that this is somewhat different from what we saw after Newtown.

　　HARI SREENIVASAN:Now, there's a provision in here where a judge can impose treatment on someone without having them committed. I mean, that's a distinction that's pretty important.

　　MIKE DEBONIS:Right. What Senator Cornyn's bill would do is expand what's currently done in a number of states, whereby family members or outside parties could petition a court to provide voluntary treatment for an individual rather than go as far as to have an involuntary commitment. The catch is that under this bill, the fact that somebody entered a voluntary treatment or a mental health treatment program that would not keep them from being able to go and buy a gun. The fact would remain that you would have to be involuntary committed to be barred from buying a gun.

　　Currently, to get your right to buy a gun back, you have to go before a judge and prove that you're capable and able to have a fireman. Under this bill, what would happen would be as soon as the order, the commitment order expired, you would automatically be able to go and purchase a gun again.

　　HARI SREENIVASAN:You know, speaking of purchasing a gun, gun control advocates point out that this doesn't close what they call the gun show loophole.

　　MIKE DEBONIS: Right. That's absolutely true. The gun show loophole is what was at issue in the legislation that was proposed after Newtown in 2013. That's legislation that the NRA initially⁵ indicated they might be able to support, but they withdrew that support, and only I believe, 54 senators were able to support that in the Senate. Nothing gets done unless you get 60 senators.

　　And since then, the Senate has gotten even more conservative. So, there's really — it's pretty well-known that there's no chance for the gun show background check bill, similar to what we saw in 2013, to succeed in this Congress.

　　HARI SREENIVASAN:So, what's the likelihood of this piece of legislation making it to the floor?

　　MIKE DEBONIS: Well, it has a lot going for it. Number one, the fact that the NRA isn't opposing it. It, in fact, appears to be endorsing⁶ it.

　　Number two, it's being sponsored by John Cornyn, who is the number two ranking Republican in GOP leadership in the Senate. He's the majority whip. He's a senior member of the judiciary committee which would have to handle this bill.

　　I think that that — you know, those are both things that would indicate that this would have a pretty, you know, high chance of likelihood that it could move successfully through the Senate. But keep in mind, we're, you know, approaching an election year. We're already very much in the middle of an election debate, and the closer you get to the election, the more that, you know, even anything on any sort of controversial matter can get caught up in any sort of side issue and get side tracked.

　　HARI SREENIVASAN:All right."Washington Post" reporter Mike DeBonis, thanks so much for joining us.

　　MIKE DEBONIS: Thanks, Hari.

1 aurora   

n.极光

参考例句：

• The aurora is one of nature's most awesome spectacles.极光是自然界最可畏的奇观之一。
• Over the polar regions we should see aurora.在极地高空,我们会看到极光。

2 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！

3 prerequisite   

n.先决条件；adj.作为前提的，必备的

参考例句：

• Stability and unity are a prerequisite to the four modernizations.安定团结是实现四个现代化的前提。
• It is a prerequisite of entry to the profession that you pass the exams.做这一行的先决条件是要通过了有关的考试。

4 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。

5 initially   

adv.最初，开始

参考例句：

• The ban was initially opposed by the US.这一禁令首先遭到美国的反对。
• Feathers initially developed from insect scales.羽毛最初由昆虫的翅瓣演化而来。

6 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