VOA慢速英语2018--美国医生请求修改枪支法

American Doctors Demand Changes to Gun Laws

The American Medical Association, or AMA, has called for a ban on military style firearms and expressed opposition¹ to arming school teachers.

The group made the statement at its yearly policymaking meeting. It called gun violence in the United States a public health crisis.

The AMA is the largest group of doctors and medical students in the United States.

Dr. Megan Ranney is an emergency-medicine specialist at Brown University. She said at the gathering², “We as physicians are the witnesses to the human toll³ of this disease.”

AMA delegates voted to approve several gun-related proposals presented by doctors groups that are part of the AMA's membership. They agreed to:

Support any bans on the purchase or possession of guns and ammunition⁴ by people under 21 years of age.

Support laws that would require documented permission and safety classes for gun owners and registration⁵ of all firearms.

Press for legislation that would permit relatives of suicidal people or those who have threatened violence to seek court-ordered removal of guns from the home.

Support better training for physicians in how to recognize patients at risk for suicide.

Push for more restrictive laws on the purchase or possession of guns by people found guilty of violence, including expanding such measures to cover stalkers.

There are gun owners and supporters among AMA members. A doctor from Montana told delegates about learning to shoot as part of the education program at her middle school. But a large majority of members supported banning military style firearms. The group approved the measure with 446 votes in favor, 99 against.

“There's a place to start and this should be it,” said Dr. Jim Hinsdale, just before the vote. He is a trauma⁶ surgeon in San Jose, California.

Gun violence is not a new issue for the AMA. It has supported past efforts to ban military style firearms and declared gun violence a public health crisis. It has also supported background checks, waiting periods and more financial support for mental health services. And it has pressed for more research on gun violence prevention.

AMA president David Barbe described as "extraordinary" the number of related measures on this year's agenda. He said that recent violence, including the Florida school shooting and the Las Vegas attack, created, in his words, “a new sense of urgency ... while Congress fails to act.”

Dr. Barbe, who was speaking on his final day as president, said, “The most important audience for our message right now is our legislators, and second most important is the public, because sometimes it requires public pressure on the legislators.”

The 243,000-member AMA has more influence with politicians and the public than other doctor groups.

The National Rifle Association did not immediately answer email and telephone requests for comment about the doctors' votes.

AMA members pointed⁷ to U.S. government data that show about 40,000 died and 111,000 were injured from guns in 2016. Cases of each have been rising in recent years.

By comparison, U.S. deaths from diabetes⁸ in 2016 totaled almost 80,000; Alzheimer's, 111,000; and lung disease, 155,000. The leading killers⁹ in 2016 were heart disease, with 634,000 deaths, and cancer, about 600,000.

I'm Caty Weaver¹⁰.

Words in this Story

physician – n. medical doctor

toll – n. very bad effect

stalker – n. a person who closely follows and watches another person for a long period of time in a way that is threatening, dangerous, etc.?

trauma surgeon – n. a doctor who operates on severely¹¹ injured people

agenda – n. a list of things to be considered or done?

audience – n. the people who watch, read, or listen to something

1 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

2 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

3 toll   

n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟)

参考例句：

• The hailstone took a heavy toll of the crops in our village last night.昨晚那场冰雹损坏了我们村的庄稼。
• The war took a heavy toll of human life.这次战争夺去了许多人的生命。

4 ammunition   

n.军火，弹药

参考例句：

• A few of the jeeps had run out of ammunition.几辆吉普车上的弹药已经用光了。
• They have expended all their ammunition.他们把弹药用光。

5 registration   

n.登记，注册，挂号

参考例句：

• Marriage without registration is not recognized by law.法律不承认未登记的婚姻。
• What's your registration number?你挂的是几号？

6 trauma   

n.外伤，精神创伤

参考例句：

• Counselling is helping him work through this trauma.心理辅导正帮助他面对痛苦。
• The phobia may have its root in a childhood trauma.恐惧症可能源于童年时期的创伤。

7 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

8 diabetes   

n.糖尿病

参考例句：

• In case of diabetes, physicians advise against the use of sugar.对于糖尿病患者，医生告诫他们不要吃糖。
• Diabetes is caused by a fault in the insulin production of the body.糖尿病是由体內胰岛素分泌失调引起的。

9 killers   

凶手( killer的名词复数 )； 消灭…者； 致命物； 极难的事

参考例句：

• He remained steadfast in his determination to bring the killers to justice. 他要将杀人凶手绳之以法的决心一直没有动摇。
• They were professional killers who did in John. 杀死约翰的这些人是职业杀手。

10 weaver   

n.织布工；编织者

参考例句：

• She was a fast weaver and the cloth was very good.她织布织得很快，而且布的质量很好。
• The eager weaver did not notice my confusion.热心的纺织工人没有注意到我的狼狈相。

11 severely   

adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地

参考例句：

• He was severely criticized and removed from his post.他受到了严厉的批评并且被撤了职。
• He is severely put down for his careless work.他因工作上的粗心大意而受到了严厉的批评。