[2008.07.05] 美国枪支管制：最后摊牌

Gun control
枪支管理

Showdown
摊牌

Jul 3rd 2008 | AUSTIN AND TAMPA
From The Economist print edition

Gun owners are becoming emboldened. That may be premature.
拥有枪支的人受到鼓舞–这可能为时过早了。

Are you looking at me?
你在看我吗？

ON JUNE 26th the Supreme Court overturned the District of Columbia’s handgun ban and asserted that individuals have the right to own guns. Gun enthusiasts rejoiced. But as they move to capitalise on this favourable judgment, they may run into new problems.

6月26日，最高法院否决了哥伦比亚特区的手枪禁令并郑重声明：个人有权利拥有枪支。枪支爱好者因此欢心鼓舞。可在他们从这个喜欢的裁决获益的同时，他们有可能会陷入一堆新问题。

Consider two developing gun-rights controversies. On July 1st Florida became the fourth state to allow people to bring their guns to work. The gun has to stay locked in the car, and its owner must have a concealed-weapons permit. You cannot bring your gun if you work in a school, hospital, prison or power plant.

来听听两场正在进行中的有关枪支权利的论战吧。6月1日，佛罗里达成为了第四个允许人们携带枪支上班的州。枪支被要求被锁在车内，而其主人则必须持有一张可暗藏武器的许可证。但如果在下列地方工作则不允许携带枪支：学校、医院、监狱和发电厂。

The law is good news for Floridians with a dangerous commute. Those who like to go hunting after work are also excited. But the prospect of heavily fortified strip-malls alarms others. The state leads the nation in concealed weapons permits; half a million people have them.

对佛罗里达那些上下班的路不甚安全的人们来说，这是一个好消息。那些喜欢下班后去打猎的人也为此感到很兴奋。但是一个围墙重重设防的公路沿线商业区的前景也给了其他人一个警告。该州在全国暗藏武器的许可上开了先河；五十万人有了暗藏武器的许可。

Florida Democrats opposed the measure. But its passage has a silver lining for them. The law has created a rift between two old allies in the Republican Party: the gun-rights crowd and business owners. The latter believe that it conflicts with their property rights. Employers are not allowed to ask workers if they have a gun in the glove box. If an employee opens fire at work, worries Irwin Stotzky of the University of Miami, the employer could be held responsible in a civil suit. The Florida Chamber of Commerce and the Florida Retail Federation are suing to overturn the law. Robert Hinkle, a Tallahassee judge, will weigh in later this month. He has already said that the law is poorly written and “stupid”. Guns at work could be a useful election-year issue for Democrats.

佛罗里达的民主党人反对了这个方案。但是它的通过也给了他们一丝希望。此法令挑起了共和党两同盟派间的不和，枪支权利派和公司所有者派。后者认为此法令与他们的产权相冲突。雇主是不允许询问雇员他们车子仪表板的小格子里是不是有把枪的。迈阿密大学的欧文·斯特兹盖担心，如果一位雇员在工作时开了枪，雇主可能会在民事诉讼中被判承担责任。佛罗里达商会和零售联盟正在起诉推翻这项法令。佛罗里达首府塔拉哈西的一位法官罗伯特·辛克尔会在本月晚些时候考虑这项诉讼。他已经表示这项法令起草得很糟糕也很”愚蠢”。工作时期的枪支问题可以成为民主党今年选举年里一项有用的议题。

A similar development is brewing in Texas. The state welcomed the Supreme Court’s decision. Its senior senator, Kay Bailey Hutchison, was a leading opponent of the District’s gun ban. She herself keeps “the normal handguns and shotguns” at home. But now there is a controversial movement afoot to allow people to carry their handguns openly, as the cowboys used to do. Texas is one of only six states where guns must be hidden. “Open-carry” advocates say that carrying a gun is natural, and that having to hide it is unfair. They add that people wear lots of things on their belts, such as BlackBerrys. Almost 18,000 people have signed one online petition. One supporter recently had two chainsaws stolen in a parking lot, and he said it would never have happened had he had his gun handy.

得克萨斯正发生着一起相似的事件。该州对最高法院的裁决是欢迎态度。该州资深参议员凯·贝利·辛其森是对哥伦比亚特区禁令首当其冲的反对者。她本人在家就放有”一般的手枪和散弹猎枪”。可现在一个颇具争议的运动正酝酿着让人们像过去的牛仔一样，可以公开地携带他们的手枪。得州是全国仅有的六个枪支必须隐藏的州之一。”公开携带”倡议者说携带枪支是一件极其自然的事，必须藏起来实在是不公平。他们补充道人们的腰带上就别着很多东西，比如说”黑莓”。差不多有一万八千人签署了网上的一份请愿书。其中的一位支持者日前就在一个停车场内被盗走了两个链锯，他说如果他可以随时拔出他的枪，这一切就本不会发生。

In this case, too, most Democrats are appalled. But they can let Republicans take up the fight for them. Plenty of gun proponents oppose open-carry. Joe Driver, a Republican representative from Garland, is more interested in efforts to get Texas its own guns-at-work law. As for the open-carry movement, he likes the idea that criminals don’t know who is carrying a gun. That way, perhaps, they have to be extra careful.

也是在这一事件里，大部分民主党人大为震惊。但是他们可以让共和党替他们内部斗起来。许多的枪支倡导者反对公开携带。一位来自得州东北部的共和党议员乔·传弗，对努力推动得州的”工作时期枪支法”更有兴趣。至于公开携带运动，他喜欢其中的一个观点：罪犯是不知道谁有带枪的。那样子的话，可能他们得更加小心点了。

译者：死海之果    http://www.ecocn.org/forum/viewthread.php?tid=12441&pid=78118&page=1&extra=page%3D1#pid78118