美国国家公共电台 NPR--The Senate gun bill would close the 'boyfriend loophole.' Here's what that means

The Senate gun bill would close the 'boyfriend loophole.' Here's what that means

Transcript¹

Congress soon may pass its most significant gun legislation in three decades. Senators are working to fast-track a bipartisan gun safety bill that negotiators recently finalized², spurred by mass shootings last month in Buffalo³, N.Y., and Uvalde, Texas.

The Senate, which advanced the bill in a 64-34 vote on Tuesday, will hold a procedural vote on Thursday to end debate and prevent a filibuster⁴ from blocking the bill.

The Bipartisan Safer Communities Act is expected to clear that vote and head for final passage in the Senate by the weekend, just ahead of lawmakers' July recess⁵. It would then go to the House for expected passage, at which point President Biden — who has urged Congress to move without delay — has said he would sign it.

The bill's measures are narrowly focused, with lawmakers aiming to craft legislation that would earn a filibuster-proof 60 votes in the evenly-divided Senate. That means it falls short of many of the changes that Democrats⁶ long have been pushed for, including universal background checks and a ban on military-style semiautomatic rifles.

Still, Democrats and gun safety advocates are hailing the legislation as an important and incremental⁷ step in the right direction. Among other provisions, it would expand background checks for prospective⁸ gun buyers between the ages of 18 and 21, incentivize states to create red-flag laws, and give states more funding for school safety and mental health resources.

It also would close the so-called "boyfriend loophole" in a law that prevents people convicted of domestic abuse from owning a gun. That law currently only applies to people who are married to, living with or have a child with the victim.

April Zeoli, a professor of criminal justice and public health at Michigan State University, says those limited categories don't reflect the fact that people spend a lot more time dating now than they did in the past, with women marrying on average in their late 20s and men in their early 30s.

"Because we spend all this time dating, it doesn't mean that violence doesn't happen," Zeoli told Morning Edition's A Martínez. "It still happens, but the dating partners right now aren't covered by the federal restriction⁹."

More than a thousand women are killed by intimate partners every year in the United States, based on FBI and CDC data, and about half of the intimate partner homicides in the U.S. are perpetrated by an unmarried partner, a 2018 study found.

The bill would close the loophole, but add a caveat¹⁰

Democrats long have tried to broaden the definition of who qualifies for the ban. Their most recent attempt, an effort to add it to the reauthorization of the 1994 Violence Against Women Act that passed in March, was unsuccessful.

While that effort was on going, some states addressed the boyfriend loophole within their jurisdictions¹¹.

Thirty-one states have policies prohibiting convicted domestic abusers from having guns, according to a tracker from Everytown for Gun Safety. Of those, 19 go beyond the federal prohibition¹² to cover abusive dating partners.

The Bipartisan Safer Communities Act is poised¹³ to finally make that change on the federal level. It adds and defines the term dating relationship as "a relationship between individuals who have or have recently had a continuing serious relationship of a romantic or intimate nature," with considerations for the length and nature of the relationship as well as the frequency and type of interactions between the individuals involved.

The bill includes a related provision, allowing people who were convicted of misdemeanor domestic violence to have their gun rights restored if their record stays clean for five years. There are some exceptions for victims' spouses¹⁴, parents, guardians¹⁵ or cohabitants.

Zeoli says she'd like to know more about the reasoning behind that provision, as it doesn't appear to be informed by any research.

"If we're talking about dating partners versus¹⁶ spouses, both of them can do the same types of violence, both of them can be the same level of dangerous, get the same conviction and get the same firearm restriction," she said. "But the spouses will have this lifetime firearm restriction, and the dating partners will have this five-year restriction, and I don't know the logic¹⁷ behind that disparity."

Baseless fears of deception¹⁸ and retaliation¹⁹

Why hasn't the federal law evolved with the times or research data? Zeoli offers one explanation:

"I think that there has always been a fear that women will make things up, that women will try to take revenge on their dating partners through lying about abuse and trying to get these firearm restrictions²⁰ on them," she says. "And that fear is unfounded. In fact ... a large proportion of people who experience abuse never report it to the courts or law enforcement."

As a researcher, she says it's been difficult to watch as measures that data suggest could save lives — such as closing the boyfriend loophole — haven't been implemented²¹. Zeoli says the bipartisan bill, even with its limited provisions, is a step in the right direction.

"I am encouraged by the fact that we are seeing movement at the federal level on gun safety legislation, when we haven't seen it for literally²² decades," Zeoli says.

The audio for this interview was produced by Jeevika Verma and Ben Abrams, and edited by Raquel Maria Dillon.

If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic abuse, use a safe computer and contact help. That can include a local shelter, or call 911 or the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233.

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 finalized   

vt.完成（finalize的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• The draft of this article has been finalized [done]. 这篇文章已经定稿。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The draft was revised several times before it was finalized. 稿子几经删改才定下来。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

3 buffalo   

n.(北美)野牛；(亚洲)水牛

参考例句：

• Asian buffalo isn't as wild as that of America's. 亚洲水牛比美洲水牛温顺些。
• The boots are made of buffalo hide. 这双靴子是由水牛皮制成的。

4 filibuster   

n.妨碍议事，阻挠；v.阻挠

参考例句：

• A senator dragged the subject in as a filibuster.一个参议员硬把这个题目拉扯进来，作为一种阻碍议事的手法。
• The democrats organized a filibuster in the senate.民主党党员在参议院上组织了阻挠议事。

5 recess   

n.短期休息，壁凹（墙上装架子，柜子等凹处）

参考例句：

• The chairman of the meeting announced a ten-minute recess.会议主席宣布休会10分钟。
• Parliament was hastily recalled from recess.休会的议员被匆匆召回开会。

6 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》

7 incremental   

adj.增加的

参考例句：

• For logic devices, the incremental current gain is very important. 对于逻辑器件来说，提高电流增益是非常重要的。 来自辞典例句
• By using an incremental approach, the problems involving material or geometric nonlinearity have been solved. 借应用一种增量方法，已经解决了包括材料的或几何的非线性问题。 来自辞典例句

8 prospective   

adj.预期的，未来的，前瞻性的

参考例句：

• The story should act as a warning to other prospective buyers.这篇报道应该对其他潜在的购买者起到警示作用。
• They have all these great activities for prospective freshmen.这会举办各种各样的活动来招待未来的新人。

9 restriction   

n.限制，约束

参考例句：

• The park is open to the public without restriction.这个公园对公众开放，没有任何限制。
• The 30 mph speed restriction applies in all built-up areas.每小时限速30英里适用于所有建筑物聚集区。

10 caveat   

n.警告； 防止误解的说明

参考例句：

• I would offer a caveat for those who want to join me in the dual calling.为防止发生误解，我想对那些想要步我后尘的人提出警告。
• As I have written before,that's quite a caveat.正如我以前所写，那确实是个警告。

11 jurisdictions   

司法权( jurisdiction的名词复数 )； 裁判权； 管辖区域； 管辖范围

参考例句：

• Butler entreated him to remember the act abolishing the heritable jurisdictions. 巴特勒提醒他注意废除世袭审判权的国会法令。
• James I personally adjudicated between the two jurisdictions. 詹姆士一世亲自裁定双方纠纷。

12 prohibition   

n.禁止；禁令，禁律

参考例句：

• The prohibition against drunken driving will save many lives.禁止酒后开车将会减少许多死亡事故。
• They voted in favour of the prohibition of smoking in public areas.他们投票赞成禁止在公共场所吸烟。

13 poised   

a.摆好姿势不动的

参考例句：

• The hawk poised in mid-air ready to swoop. 老鹰在半空中盘旋，准备俯冲。
• Tina was tense, her hand poised over the telephone. 蒂娜心情紧张，手悬在电话机上。

14 spouses   

n.配偶，夫或妻( spouse的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Jobs are available for spouses on campus and in the community. 校园里和社区里有配偶可做的工作。 来自辞典例句
• An astonishing number of spouses-most particularly in the upper-income brackets-have no close notion of their husbands'paychecks. 相当大一部分妇女——特别在高收入阶层——并不很了解他们丈夫的薪金。 来自辞典例句

15 guardians   

监护人( guardian的名词复数 )； 保护者，维护者

参考例句：

• Farmers should be guardians of the countryside. 农民应是乡村的保卫者。
• The police are guardians of law and order. 警察是法律和秩序的护卫者。

16 versus   

prep.以…为对手，对；与…相比之下

参考例句：

• The big match tonight is England versus Spain.今晚的大赛是英格兰对西班牙。
• The most exciting game was Harvard versus Yale.最富紧张刺激的球赛是哈佛队对耶鲁队。

17 logic   

n.逻辑(学)；逻辑性

参考例句：

• What sort of logic is that?这是什么逻辑？
• I don't follow the logic of your argument.我不明白你的论点逻辑性何在。

18 deception   

n.欺骗，欺诈；骗局，诡计

参考例句：

• He admitted conspiring to obtain property by deception.他承认曾与人合谋骗取财产。
• He was jailed for two years for fraud and deception.他因为诈骗和欺诈入狱服刑两年。

19 retaliation   

n.报复，反击

参考例句：

• retaliation against UN workers 对联合国工作人员的报复
• He never said a single word in retaliation. 他从未说过一句反击的话。 来自《简明英汉词典》

20 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

21 implemented   

v.实现( implement的过去式和过去分词 )；执行；贯彻；使生效

参考例句：

• This agreement, if not implemented, is a mere scrap of paper. 这个协定如不执行只不过是一纸空文。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The economy is in danger of collapse unless far-reaching reforms are implemented. 如果不实施影响深远的改革，经济就面临崩溃的危险。 来自辞典例句

22 literally   

adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实

参考例句：

• He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
• Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。