2012 美国校园枪击案

罪恶超乎想象of 20 small c hildren cannot end America’s infatuation with guns,during a prayer vigil, Barack Obama read out the first names were all six or seven years old. Six adults at the school were雷丝、埃米莉、杰克、诺亚、卡罗琳、杰西卡、本杰明、阿维尔勒、阿利森……在守夜祈祷中这个特别令人心碎的时刻里，奥巴马逐个念出了在康州桑迪胡克校园枪击案中被杀的20名儿童的名字。

他们都只有六、七岁。

学校里还有六名成年人被杀，包括试图阻止凶手的校长。

The carnage has rocked the community of Sandy Hook, part of the town of Newtown. Makeshift memorials made of candles, flowers and fluffy toys have sprung up all over the hilly New England village. Townspeople and visitors make pilgrimages to the school. They share tales of heroic teachers and brave children. One little boy offered to lead the evacuation as “I know karate.” Churches are open round the clock. Six-year-old Olivia Engel was supposed to be an angel in a nativity scene. Now, said Monsignor Bob Weiss, she is an angel in heaven.大屠杀震惊了位于纽顿镇的桑迪胡克社区。

蜡烛、鲜花和毛绒玩具临时搭建的纪念碑遍布整个新英格兰山村【注1】。

市民和访客纷纷到学校慰问。

他们在传诵英雄教师和勇敢学童的故事。

如案发时一个小男孩提议由他带领大家疏散，他说：“我学过空手道。

” 教堂全天开放，主教鲍勃•维斯说：六岁的奥利维亚•恩格尔原计划在耶稣诞生的演出中扮演天使，现在，她成了天堂上的一名天使。

【注2】The shooting has shocked a country long accustomed to gun violence. There have been a dozen mass-shootings this year. Over the summer murderous gun rampages occurred at a Sikh temple in Wisconsin and at a cinema in Colorado. Mr Obama’s visit to Sandy Hook was the fourth time he has been to a community devastated in this way. Fighting tears, an unusually emotional Mr Obama said in an address to the nation that action is needed, “regardless of the politics”.枪击案震惊了全国，即便人们对枪支暴力早已习以为常。

今年以来已经发生了十几起大规模凶杀案【注3】。

夏天里威斯康星州的一个锡克教寺庙，以及科罗拉多州一家影院，都发生了残酷的枪杀案件【注4】。

奥巴马此次来桑迪胡克已经是他第四次到访遭受类似打击的社区。

面对全国发表讲话时，奥巴马强忍泪水，异常激动地呼吁“抛开政治分歧”、采取必要行动。

Other gun-related incidents, such as the one in 2011 which left Gabrielle Giffords, an Arizona congresswoman, severely injured and killed six others, did nothing to push politicians to fight for gun control. But this time does seem different. Since the shooting more than 180,000 Americans have petitioned the White House to introduce gun-control legislation. Senators Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Mark Warner of Virginia, both given A ratings the National Rifle Association, are now calling for gun control. But the reformers have a huge task ahead of them. According to one survey, roughly a third of all American households own firearms. Three-quarters of those own more than one. Around 300m guns are in circulation, about one for every person in the country.以往的枪击事件，如2011年亚利桑那州女国会议员加布里埃尔•吉福兹遇刺受重伤、另外六人死亡的事件【注5】，并未推动政客去争取枪支管制。

但是，这一次似乎有所不同。

自枪击案发生以来已有超过18万美国人请求白宫就枪支管制立法。

曾被全国步枪协会(NRA)评为A级【注6】的西弗吉尼亚州马克•沃纳和弗吉尼亚州乔•曼钦两位参议员，现也转而呼吁对枪支进行管制。

然而，摆在改革者面前的是一项巨大的任务。

一项调查显示，大约三分之一的美国家庭拥有枪支，其中四分之三家庭拥有不止一支。

大约有3亿支枪在市面上流通，差不多全国每人一支。

Between 1994 and 2004 the federal assault-weapons ban outlawed certain weapons. Since its expiry most of the debate about new gun-control legislation has not focused on banning guns, but about allowing them in more places—in national parks, on trains, in churches and at colleges. Still, Dianne Feinstein, a Democratic senator from California, plans speedily to reintroduce an updated federal ban on these weapons. And Mr Obama’s spokesman has indicated that he will support it.“联邦攻击性武器禁令” 在1994到2004年间取缔了一些武器。

该禁令失效之后，关于新法案的立法辩论焦点不再是取缔枪支，而是应不应该允许把枪支带到更多的地方，包括国家公园里、火车上、教堂和大学内。

来自加州的民主党参议员黛安娜•范斯坦【注7】，迅速决定推动新版武器禁令出台。

奥巴马的发言人已经表示总统将支持这一计划。

Any serious new gun-control laws are likely to face opposition from the NRA. The lobby group has bragged that it defeated 19 of the 24 congressmen it targeted in 1994, shortly after the assault ban went into effect. The NRA kept a low profile this week, though it promised a statement on Decemb er 21st which would make “meaningful contributions” towards gun safety. Others have acted already: California’s legislature moved to require a licence for anyone buying ammunition, and Cerberus Capital, a private-equity group, said it will sell its stake in the firm that made the semi-automatic rifle used in Sandy Hook.任何严厉的新禁枪法都可能面临NRA的反对。

这个游说团体曾吹嘘说，1994年“联邦攻击性武器禁令”生效后不久，它就搞跨了支持该禁令的24名国会议员中的19名。

NRA承诺会在12月21日发表一份声明，将对枪支安全做出“有意义的贡献” 【注8】，但本周仍保持低调，但。

其他组织已在行动：加利福尼亚州立法机构打算要求任何购买弹药的人都必须要有许可证；塞伯罗斯资本（一家私营股权投资集团）表示，将出售桑迪胡克枪杀案中所用半自动步枪的生产厂家的股份。

Michael Bloomberg, New York’s anti-gun mayor, this week urged Mr Obama to introduce legislation. If the president does nothing, Mr Bloomberg notes that some 48,000 Americans will be murdered by guns during his second term—several times more Americans than died on September 11th 2001, in Afghanistan and Iraq combined. Tightening existing laws would be a start. The 1994 Brady bill, named after Ronald Reagan’s press spokesman who was critically injured in an assassination attempt, brought in federal background checks for gun purchases. The refusal rate is very low, just 0.6% of the 157m checks processed. Besides, 40% of firearms purchases are not from licensed gun-dealers or are at gun shows, and do not require even this background check. That is one change that may well now be made.本周纽约市反枪市长迈克尔•布隆伯格【注9】敦促奥巴马进行立法。