Gun control
枪支管制
The Supreme Court opens fire
美联邦最高法院开火
Jun 26th 2008 | WASHINGTON, DC
From The Economist print edition
The Nine strike down a gun ban and delight the firearms lobby
九位大法官否决了枪支管制案，让武器商游说集团欣喜不已
AFTER 217 years, the Supreme Court appears finally to have settled one of the most hotly disputed questions in American constitutional law: who has the right to pack heat? The second amendment says: “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.” The odd punctuation makes it unclear what this means. Can anyone own a gun, or only those who serve in a militia?
历经217年，美联邦最高法院最终落下法槌，解决了美联邦宪法最具争议的一个问题：谁有权携带武器？美国第二修正令规定：”训练有素的民兵是一个自由国家安全的保障，持有或携带武器的权利不得侵犯。”标点的使用让句子意思模棱两可。是任何人都有权持枪还是只有民兵可以？
On June 26th, five of the nine justices ruled that the right to bear arms is an individual right. In DC v Heller, they struck down a near-total ban on handgun ownership in Washington, DC. But they allowed for some restrictions on gun ownership. States or cities may still continue to prohibit the carrying of concealed weapons, and “dangerous and unusual weapons” may still be barred.
6月26日，9位大法官以5：4的比例判定持枪是一项个人权利。在华盛顿特区诉Heller一案中，他们否决了特区一项对枪支所有关系的近乎全面的禁止令。但同时，他们也允许就此做出一些限制规定。各州市依然可以禁止携带隐蔽武器。”危险武器、非常规武器”也属禁止之列。
“Undoubtedly some think that the Second Amendment is outmoded in a society where our standing army is the pride of our nation, where well-trained police forces provide personal security, and where gun violence is a serious problem,” wrote Justice Antonin Scalia for the majority. “That is perhaps debatable, but what is not debatable is that it is not the role of this court to pronounce the Second Amendment extinct.”
“毫无疑问，有人会认为，在我国，常备军是我们的骄傲，训练有素的警察足以保证个人安全，而枪支暴力事件已成为一个严重问题。在这样的社会，第二修正令已经过时了。”持赞成态度的Antonin Scalia大法官这样分析，”这是值得讨论的，但不容置疑的是法院无权宣布第二修正令作废。”
Gun-lovers are guardedly jubilant. More lawsuits challenging gun-control laws are now likely. The toughest such laws tend to be in cities, where liberals far outnumber hunters and gun curbs are broadly popular. Some of these will probably fall foul of the new precedent. Shirley Franklin, the mayor of Atlanta, bleakly predicts that litigation will divert resources from fighting crime.
枪支爱好者对这一判决很高兴，但他们也很小心。现在越来越多的诉讼可能向枪支管制法律提出挑战。这一类法律最严格的多在各市。这些地方，自由主义者远远超过了持枪者，枪支禁令得到了广泛支持。一些城市可能刚发生了新的枪支暴力事件。亚特兰大市长Shirley Franklin冷冷地说，预计立法将分化转移暴力犯罪的资源。
Advocates of gun control, who credit tough gun laws with helping to reduce the murder rate in many American cities, are distraught. They must now try to figure out how to craft curbs that could pass constitutional muster, but it is not entirely clear what these might be.
枪支管制的支持者相信严格的枪支管制有助于减少许多美国城市的谋杀案的发生率，得知这一结果，他们也心神不宁。他们必须殚精竭虑，设法想出可以通过宪法审查的枪支管制法律。现在还不清楚这些法律的具体内容。
The Supreme Court made two other rulings this week that delighted conservatives. It slashed by $2 billion the punitive damages that Exxon must pay for the Exxon Valdez oil spill in Alaska 19 years ago, setting a precedent that could curb future pluck-a-number-out-of-thin-air awards. And it threw out a law that freed incumbent politicians from many campaign spending restrictions if challenged by a rich opponent.
美联邦最高法院本周还做出了两项受到保守派欢迎的判决。一项是，19年前埃克森美孚石油公司在阿拉斯加造成的埃克森瓦尔德斯原油泄漏事故中须支付的惩罚性赔偿金，法院大幅削减了20个亿。这就设立了先例，解决未来可能的赔偿过多，显失公平的问题。另一项是，否决了一个法案。该法案规定现任官员在竞选中受到富有对手挑战时，将不受许多竞选花费的限制。
But it is the gun ruling that will send out the most ripples. Nationally, gun rights are popular, but so are modest restrictions on them, such as background checks to weed out criminals and crazy people, and waiting periods to allow angry people time to calm down. These sorts of restrictions, however, should remain safe from challenge, despite this week’s ruling.
但是，论判决激起的反响而言，还属关于枪支的判决反响最大。从全国范围看，持枪权利得到的支持很多，但也有不少人支持对枪支进行适当管制，比如：个人背景审查，以排除刑事犯以及精神病患，同时给情绪失控的人时间待其平静。这类限制的存在无需置疑，尽管有本周的这个判决。
If the decision reassures law-abiding gun owners that their weapons are safe, it could help Barack Obama, since those gun-owners will feel safe to be swayed by other things they might like about him, such as universal health insurance. But if it reminds them that big-city liberals want to grab their guns, that could hurt him badly. Reporters will pester him about whether he agrees with the decision, and which gun restrictions, exactly, he supports.
如果判决给了合法持枪人信心，他们可以持枪。这就可能帮到总统候选人贝拉克•奥巴马，因为这些持枪者在安全感下容易被奥巴马谈及的他们喜欢的其它问题打动，比如全面的健康保险。但如果判决提醒他们，大城市的自由人士想夺走他们的枪，这就会让奥巴马损失惨重。记者会不断追问，他是否同意这项判决，以及他到底支持那一项枪支限制规定。
Gun owners are disproportionately (though by no means entirely) white, southern and rural-a group Mr Obama has trouble appealing to. Bill Clinton found it hard enough in the 1990s, despite his charm and similar background. On the stump, he defended his proposal to ban assault weapons by pointing out that you don’t need an Uzi to hunt deer. “I never saw a deer in a Kevlar vest,” he would joke.
持枪者大多（尽管决不可能是全部）是白人，来自南部或者农村，这是奥巴马很难迎合的一群人。二十世纪九十年代，比尔•克林顿带着他的魅力和相似的背景，发现了同样的困难。在这个疑难问题上，他为其就职计划辩护，应禁止攻击性武器，同时指出，扑杀一头鹿无需使用”乌齐”冲锋枪。他会开玩笑说，”我从来没见过一头穿着Kevlar纤维（一种防弹纤维）背心的鹿。”
Mr Obama finds it tougher to strike the right note with rural whites. Face to face, he is persuasive-he won plenty of votes in rural Illinois when running for the Senate. But this is a national race, and he cannot meet more than a tiny fraction of voters in person. So it is easy for his opponents to paint him as a condescending liberal.
奥巴马要想给乡下的白人留下好的印象更加困难。面对面时，他非常有说服力，在竞选参议员时，他赢得了伊利诺伊州乡下的无数选票。但这次是全国竞选，即使是全国选民的一小部分，他也不可能一一见面。这样，他的对手轻而易举就可以将他描绘成一个屈尊的自由人士。
John McCain, Mr Obama’s opponent, is hardly the gun lobby’s darling. Heretically for a Republican, he favours background checks for those who buy guns at gun shows. But the National Rifle Association (NRA), the main gun lobby, vastly prefers him to Mr Obama. He made a point of going to the NRA’s annual convention last month, where he spoke movingly of a 74-year-old woman who defended her home from a marauder who threatened to set fire to her garage.
约翰•麦肯锡，奥巴马的对手，几乎不可能会是持枪游说集团的意中人。作为共和党人的异端，他支持对进枪械店购买枪支的人进行个人背景审查。但美国国家枪支协会（NRA），一个主要的支持持枪游说集团，却更喜欢他，远胜过奥巴马。他郑重得去参加了国家枪支协会上个月的年会。会上，他动情的说起一个74岁的老妇遇到一个劫匪，威胁要烧她的车库，不得已保护自己的家的事。
An American’s individual right to bear arms may now be secure. But the NRA still frets that lawsuits blaming gun-makers for the actions of criminals who use their products could bankrupt the industry. The vote-scaring slogans practically write themselves. Read my lips: no new guns!
美国人持枪的个人权利也许现在得到保障了。但美国国家枪支协会依然担心，那些将犯罪行为归咎于枪支制造者的诉讼案件会彻底毁掉这个行业。实际上，争取选票的标语说明了一切。读我的唇语：没有新的枪！
译者：davidship http://www.ecocn.org/forum/viewthread.php?tid=12385