美国枪支暴力再次引起争论

AS IT IS 2015-06-23 Once Again, Americans Debate Gun Violence 美国枪支暴力再次引起争论

After a deadly shooting at a church in South Carolina last week, U.S. politicians are again debating how to deal with gun laws and gun violence. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that more than 11,000 people died and 84,000 people suffered injuries from gun violence in 2013. The CDC also reported that another 21,000 people committed suicide with guns.

Currently most adults in the U.S. can legally buy guns. The Swiss group, Small Arms Survey, said in a 2007 report that more civilians¹ in the U.S. own guns than civilians in any other country.

President Barack Obama commented last week on how easily Americans can buy and keep guns. He was speaking about the man who is charged with shooting and killing² nine people at a South Carolina church last week. The suspected shooter, Dylann Roof, appears in photographs that include white supremacy³ symbols.

White supremacy is a belief that the white race is better than all other races and should have control of all other races. Dylann Roof is white; the shooting victims were black.

Mr. Obama says the fact that such a troubled young man had a gun shows America has a problem to solve. An article on June 20 in The New York Times newspaper says Mr. Roof bought the gun with money his parents gave him for his 21st birthday.

“Every country has violent, hateful, or mentally unstable⁴ people,” said Mr. Obama. “What’s different is not every country is awash with easily-accessible guns. And so I refuse to act as if this is the new normal.”

Candidates for the 2016 presidential campaign are also commenting on gun violence and gun laws. Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton noted⁵ other recent deadly attacks. She spoke⁶ about the 2012 shooting deaths of children at a school in Connecticut and people in a movie theater in Colorado.

“We have to face hard truths about race, violence, guns and division,” said Ms. Clinton. “How many innocent people in our country, from little children to church members to movie theatre attendees, how many people do we need to see cut down before we act?”

Activists⁸ who support gun rights are also taking part in the political fight. The National Rifle Association, or NRA, is the biggest gun-rights activist⁷ group in the U.S. Its leader, Wayne LaPierre, famously said after the Connecticut school shootings in 2012, “The only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun."

Mr. LaPierre recently promised that gun rights voters would defeat Hillary Clinton in the presidential election.

The NRA has strong political support, especially among some well-known politicians from the Republican Party. One of the people who spoke at an NRA meeting earlier this year was former Florida governor Jeb Bush, who is also running for president.

“I have a message for the Obama administration,” said Bush. “Why don’t you focus more on keeping weapons out of the hands of Islamic terrorists, and less on keeping weapons out of the hands of law-abiding Americans?”

Two years ago, the Senate tried and failed to pass legislation to permit the government to investigate the backgrounds of everyone who wanted to buy a gun. President Obama says such measures would likely cost some elected officials the votes of gun rights activists. But he says lawmakers will one day accept and support stricter gun control.

“I know today’s politics makes it less likely that we will see any sort of serious gun safety legislation,” Obama said. “I want to be clear: I am not resigned. I have faith we will eventually do the right thing.”

Words in This Story

white supremacy - n. a belief that the white race is better than all other races and should have control of all other races.

awash – adj. flooded with or covered by

accessible – adj. able to be used or obtained

law-abiding – adj. obeying the law

resigned – adj. feeling or showing acceptance that something unpleasant will happen or will not change

1 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

2 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

3 supremacy   

n.至上；至高权力

参考例句：

• No one could challenge her supremacy in gymnastics.她是最优秀的体操运动员，无人能胜过她。
• Theoretically,she holds supremacy as the head of the state.从理论上说，她作为国家的最高元首拥有至高无上的权力。

4 unstable   

adj.不稳定的，易变的

参考例句：

• This bookcase is too unstable to hold so many books.这书橱很不结实，装不了这么多书。
• The patient's condition was unstable.那患者的病情不稳定。

5 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

6 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

7 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

8 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》