VOA慢速英语2016 德克萨斯州欲为LGBT群体提供免费培训

AS IT IS 2016-07-12 Texas Gun Range Offers Free Training to LGBT People 德克萨斯州欲为LGBT群体提供免费培训

The killing¹ of 49 people at a gay nightclub in Florida has shaken America’s LGBT community.

The attack has led some of the community’s members to consider carrying guns.

A gun range in Houston, Texas is now offering free training to LGBT people. LGBT is short for the words lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender. Many people have signed up for the classes because they fear they could be a victim of violence.

Texas law requires an operating permit for people to carry a gun, whether it is concealed³ or not.

“There is a target that has been painted on people’s backs now if they are part of the LGBT community,” class member Cheryl Burgin said.

Burgin knows how to use a gun. She once served in the U.S. Marine⁴ Corps⁵. She now feels the need to have her own gun to protect herself and her wife.

Even with a legal permit in Texas, guns are barred from some public places, such as schools and hospitals. They are also not permitted in most drinking establishments and nightclubs, like the one attacked in Orlando.

Burgin admits that taking a gun into a bar or club would not be a good idea. “You don’t want to mix alcohol and firearms. It is not the smartest thing to take it into a club. But if I need to have it nearby, I will make sure I have it with me.”

Jess Sanford is General Manager of Houston’s Shiloh Gun Range and 3D Archery. He says his decision to drop the usual $69 class fee for the LGBT community has been warmly received.

“What we thought was going to be two classes, with maybe 40 people total, has now just totally blown up to 13 classes, and we've got over 550 signed up, with over a hundred done already.”

He says people receiving the training enjoy being with like-minded people who do not judge them.

Desaree Reyes and her wife, Marcella, said they decided⁶ to take the training because of possible hostility⁷ to their same-sex marriage. But Desaree admits she is not sure how she would react to an attack like the one in Orlando.

“I don’t feel that just because I have my license⁸ that I am going to be ready,” she said. But she added that carrying a weapon will give her better piece of mind.

“I do feel like at least I have that protection…so that if somebody were to come towards me or my family, I'm already ready to protect myself.”

The gay community includes people on both sides of the gun control debate.

Pink Pistols is an LGBT gun rights group. It was already urging members of the community to arm themselves before Orlando. A representative of the group, Gwendolyn Patton, released a statement after the shooting.

“Guns did not do this. A human being did this, a dead human being. Our job now is not to demonize the man’s tools, but to condemn⁹ his acts and work to prevent such acts in the future.”

Other LGBT rights groups, including Human Rights Campaign, have called for stronger gun control measures. “The safety of the LGBTQ community depends on our ability to end both the hatred¹⁰ toward our community, and the epidemic¹¹ of gun violence that has spiraled out of control,” HRC president Chad Griffin said.

Griffin blamed the mass shooting on “a toxic¹² combination of two things: a deranged¹³, unstable¹⁴ individual who had been conditioned to hate (LGBT) people, and easy access to military-style guns.”

Words in This Story

conceal² – v. keep something hidden

piece of mind – n. a feeling of being safe or protected

epidemic – n. a sudden, widespread growth of something

deranged – adj. behaving in a dangerous way because of a mental disorder¹⁵

gay – n. a person sexually attracted to someone who is the same sex

nightclub – n. a place that offers entertainment and drinks

lesbian – n. a woman who is sexually attracted to other women

bisexual – n. a person sexually attracted to someone who is the same sex or the opposite sex

transgender – adj. a person who expresses or identifies with a gender different from the one they were born with

1 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。

2 conceal   

v.隐藏，隐瞒，隐蔽

参考例句：

• He had to conceal his identity to escape the police.为了躲避警方，他只好隐瞒身份。
• He could hardly conceal his joy at his departure.他几乎掩饰不住临行时的喜悦。

3 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。

4 marine   

adj.海的；海生的；航海的；海事的；n.水兵

参考例句：

• Marine creatures are those which live in the sea. 海洋生物是生存在海里的生物。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

5 corps   

n.(通信等兵种的)部队；(同类作的)一组

参考例句：

• The medical corps were cited for bravery in combat.医疗队由于在战场上的英勇表现而受嘉奖。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

6 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

7 hostility   

n.敌对，敌意；抵制［pl.］交战，战争

参考例句：

• There is open hostility between the two leaders.两位领导人表现出公开的敌意。
• His hostility to your plan is well known.他对你的计划所持的敌意是众所周知的。

8 license   

n.执照，许可证，特许；v.许可，特许

参考例句：

• The foreign guest has a license on the person.这个外国客人随身携带执照。
• The driver was arrested for having false license plates on his car.司机由于使用假车牌而被捕。

9 condemn   

vt.谴责，指责；宣判(罪犯)，判刑

参考例句：

• Some praise him,whereas others condemn him.有些人赞扬他，而有些人谴责他。
• We mustn't condemn him on mere suppositions.我们不可全凭臆测来指责他。

10 hatred   

n.憎恶，憎恨，仇恨

参考例句：

• He looked at me with hatred in his eyes.他以憎恨的眼光望着我。
• The old man was seized with burning hatred for the fascists.老人对法西斯主义者充满了仇恨。

11 epidemic   

n.流行病；盛行；adj.流行性的，流传极广的

参考例句：

• That kind of epidemic disease has long been stamped out.那种传染病早已绝迹。
• The authorities tried to localise the epidemic.当局试图把流行病限制在局部范围。

12 toxic   

adj.有毒的，因中毒引起的

参考例句：

• The factory had accidentally released a quantity of toxic waste into the sea.这家工厂意外泄漏大量有毒废物到海中。
• There is a risk that toxic chemicals might be blasted into the atmosphere.爆炸后有毒化学物质可能会进入大气层。

13 deranged   

adj.疯狂的

参考例句：

• Traffic was stopped by a deranged man shouting at the sky.一名狂叫的疯子阻塞了交通。
• A deranged man shot and killed 14 people.一个精神失常的男子开枪打死了14人。

14 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。

15 disorder   

n.紊乱，混乱；骚动，骚乱；疾病，失调

参考例句：

• When returning back,he discovered the room to be in disorder.回家后，他发现屋子里乱七八糟。
• It contained a vast number of letters in great disorder.里面七零八落地装着许多信件。