VOA标准英语2013--US Gun Control Advocates Disappointed by Vote

 

US Gun Control Advocates Disappointed by Vote

At the White House Wednesday, with parents of the school shooting victims alongside, President Obama pledged to keep fighting for gun control.

"So all and all, this is a pretty shameful¹ day for Washington. But this effort is not over," Obama said.

His remarks came after the Senate defeated a proposal to expand background checks for gun buyers.

Mark Barden's seven year-old son Daniel was killed when a gunman opened fire on 20 children and six educators at a school in Newtown Connecticut last December.

"In any instant, any dad in America could be in my shoes. No one should feel the pain, no one should feel our pain or the pain felt by tens of thousands of people who have lost loved ones to senseless gun violence," Barden said.

On the Senate floor, gun rights advocates like Senator Richard Shelby insisted the legislation would infringe² on the constitutional right to own guns.

"As one of the Justice Department's leading crime researchers has stated, the government's ability to implement³ near universal background checks would rely in part on quote 'requiring gun registration⁴.' I oppose that," Shelby said.

Stephen Barton was shot by a gunman who sprayed bullets in a Colorado movie theater last July -- killing⁵ twelve people. He says Americans should not only focus on mass tragedies but should realize that 12,000 people die every year from gun violence.

"Perhaps over the medium term and maybe just as importantly, it is holding accountable those senators who voted against public safety. If the Senators aren't going to vote for what is right, maybe then it is time to change the Senators," Barton said.

The defeat in the Senate was especially disappointing for Neil Heslin. His six year-old son Jesse was killed in the Newtown shooting. He spent weeks trying to persuade members of Congress to approve new legislation.

He says he will return to Washington to fight for laws that will prevent other mass shootings.

"I don't ever think you will be able to stop it completely but to have lost 20 innocent babies to a mass murder like that, it is something that never should have happened," Heslin said.

Gun control advocates say with more Americans supporting their cause, that could pressure lawmakers to take another look at measures to reduce gun violence. 

1 shameful   

adj.可耻的，不道德的

参考例句：

• It is very shameful of him to show off.他向人炫耀自己，真不害臊。
• We must expose this shameful activity to the newspapers.我们一定要向报社揭露这一无耻行径。

2 infringe   

v.违反，触犯，侵害

参考例句：

• The jury ruled that he had infringed no rules.陪审团裁决他没有违反任何规定。
• He occasionally infringe the law by parking near a junction.他因偶尔将车停放在交叉口附近而违反规定。

3 implement   

n.(pl.)工具，器具；vt.实行，实施，执行

参考例句：

• Don't undertake a project unless you can implement it.不要承担一项计划，除非你能完成这项计划。
• The best implement for digging a garden is a spade.在花园里挖土的最好工具是铁锹。

4 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？

5 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。