Push for Gun Control After Orlando Shooting

AS IT IS 2016-06-15 Push for Gun Control After Orlando Shooting

The day after 49 people were killed at a nightclub in Orlando, U.S. President Barack Obama called on the nation to make it harder for people who might be a threat to get guns -- just as he had after other mass shootings.

Obama said, “We have to decide if that’s the kind of country we want to be. And to actively¹ do nothing is a decision, as well.”

But gun control proposals from Obama and others appear to have no better chance of passing Congress than they did after earlier mass killings³.

“It’s a good bet that Congress will continue” to do nothing on gun control, said Philip Cook, a professor at Duke University in North Carolina. The Republican Party controls Congress, and most of its elected officials oppose new gun control bills, he said.

Military-style weapon used in mass killings

The weapon used in the Orlando nightclub shootings was a Sig Sauer MCX rifle. It is a version of the AR-15 rifle and similar to the M-16 weapon used by the U.S. military.

Military-style weapons have also been used in other mass killings, including the killing² of 14 at San Bernardino, the murder of 20 first graders and six adults at an elementary school in Newtown, and the killing of 12 at a movie theater in the state of Colorado.

Sunday’s mass killings at an Orlando nightclub and the killings at a holiday party in San Bernardino last year were carried out by people inspired by Islamic State militants⁴, according to the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation⁵.

The Violence Policy Center said the rifle that Omar Mateen used to kill 49 in Orlando is the weapon of choice for mass killings. Congress should ban it and similar weapons, said Josh Sugarmann, the center’s executive director.

He said assault weapons like the one used in the Orlando shooting “were designed for a simple purpose: to kill as many people as quickly and efficiently⁶ as possible.”

But opponents of gun control say the AR-15 is used by millions of Americans legally for target practice, hunting and shooting competition.

“These terrorists hate us because our way of life is not compatible with their beliefs,” said Dan Zelenka, president of the Louisiana Shooting Association. “To allow the actions of a terrorist to affect the constitutional rights of law-abiding Americans is an anathema⁷.”

Anathema is a word used to say that people are strongly opposed to something.

Sales of some AR-15s and other military-style weapons were blocked by a 1994 assault weapon ban. But Congress refused to continue the law 10 years later. The National Rifle Association, which opposes most gun control legislation, asked Congress to end the assault weapon ban.

More guns in U.S. than other countries

Robert Spitzer is an expert on gun control issues at the State University of New York at Cortland. He said many people outside the United States have a hard time understanding why so many Americans – an estimated 100 million – own guns.

He explained: “They (guns) represent a feeling of American individualism, the idea that Americans don’t want to rely on others for self-protection, such as police or government,” he said.

There are more guns in America than other countries.

The last major study, done in 2007 by the Small Arms Survey, said the United States has 88.8 guns for every 100 people, more than No. 2 Yemen, which had 54.9 per 100 residents, and No. 3 Switzerland, with 45.7 guns per 100 people.

The question of how Americans feel about gun control is complex, with both sides even disagreeing over how much regulation is permitted by the U.S. Constitution.

The Pew Research Center, for example, found in 2015 that large percentages of both Democrats⁹ and Republicans favor requiring people buying guns to complete a background check. But it said many conservatives fear such legislation would lead to the taking away of peoples’ guns.

A background check looks at whether someone has done something in the past – such as a violent act – or has mental health problems that would make gun ownership risky¹⁰.

Currently, people buying guns from private owners can avoid a background check in most U.S. states. That is the “loophole,” or exception, that Obama and others want to end.

Gun control is a campaign issue

The issue of whether to limit gun purchases has become an issue in the presidential race between Republican Donald Trump¹¹ and Democrat⁸ Hillary Clinton.

On Monday, Clinton called for several steps. Among them: a ban on the sale of military-style weapons, better background checks and a ban on gun purchases by people on “no fly” lists because of concerns about their support of terrorism.

“If you’re too dangerous to get on a plane, you are too dangerous to buy a gun in America,” Clinton said.

Trump said he favored blocking people from countries with large numbers of terrorists from coming to the United States, but no new gun laws.

“They tried that in France which has among the toughest gun laws anywhere in the world, and 130 people were brutally¹² murdered by Islamic terrorists in cold blood,” Trump said. He was talking about the November attacks on a concert hall, restaurants and a sports stadium in Paris.

Words in This Story

nightclub – n. a place offering entertainment

bet – n. thinking about what will probably happen

rifle – n. a gun that has a long barrel and that is held against your shoulder when you shoot it

assault – adj. used to cause severe injury and pain

efficiently – adv. capable of producing desired results without wasting materials, time, or energy

compatible – adj. able to exist together without trouble or conflict, or gong together well

law-abiding – adj. someone who follows the law

rely – v. to depend on

brutality¹³ – n. cruel, harsh, and usually violent treatment of another person

1 actively   

adv.积极地，勤奋地

参考例句：

• During this period all the students were actively participating.在这节课中所有的学生都积极参加。
• We are actively intervening to settle a quarrel.我们正在积极调解争执。

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 killings   

谋杀( killing的名词复数 )； 突然发大财，暴发

参考例句：

• His statement was seen as an allusion to the recent drug-related killings. 他的声明被视为暗指最近与毒品有关的多起凶杀案。
• The government issued a statement condemning the killings. 政府发表声明谴责这些凶杀事件。

4 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。

5 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。

6 efficiently   

adv.高效率地，有能力地

参考例句：

• The worker oils the machine to operate it more efficiently.工人给机器上油以使机器运转更有效。
• Local authorities have to learn to allocate resources efficiently.地方政府必须学会有效地分配资源。

7 anathema   

n.诅咒；被诅咒的人(物)，十分讨厌的人(物)

参考例句：

• Independence for the Kurds is anathema to Turkey and Iran.库尔德人的独立对土耳其和伊朗来说将是一场梦魇。
• Her views are ( an ) anathema to me.她的观点真叫我讨厌。

8 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。

9 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 risky   

adj.有风险的，冒险的

参考例句：

• It may be risky but we will chance it anyhow.这可能有危险，但我们无论如何要冒一冒险。
• He is well aware how risky this investment is.他心里对这项投资的风险十分清楚。

11 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

12 brutally   

adv.残忍地，野蛮地，冷酷无情地

参考例句：

• The uprising was brutally put down.起义被残酷地镇压下去了。
• A pro-democracy uprising was brutally suppressed.一场争取民主的起义被残酷镇压了。

13 brutality   

n.野蛮的行为，残忍，野蛮

参考例句：

• The brutality of the crime has appalled the public. 罪行之残暴使公众大为震惊。
• a general who was infamous for his brutality 因残忍而恶名昭彰的将军