分析：美国影院枪击案难阻枪支销售

The gun counter at the Gander Mountain store in Thornton on the outskirts of Denver has a range of firearms to suit every taste: handguns, pistols and a broad selection of assault rifles are on open display.

美国丹佛(Denver)市郊桑顿镇(Thornton)甘德山(Gander Mountain)百货商店的枪支柜台出售各种枪支，能够满足每一种喜好。柜台上公开摆放着单手枪(handgun)、手枪(pistol)和各种突击步枪，琳琅满目。

Business was brisk at the weekend as a steady stream of customers approached the counter for advice.

周末这里生意兴隆，不断有顾客来到柜台前咨询。

A family with two children examined a hunting rifle, while a young couple inquired about a 9mm handgun. “I’m in the military and already have a gun but this one is for her, the tall young man with closely cropped hair told the Financial Times, gesturing towards his girlfriend.

带着两个孩子的一家人在研究一支来福猎枪，旁边一对年轻人则在咨询9毫米单手枪。其中那位留着平头的高个小伙子，指着身边的女友向英国《金融时报》表示：“我是军人，已经有一支枪了。这支枪是给她买的。

It is unclear whether sales at the shop, which is next to a Family Christian Stores outlet, were higher than normal: the FT was escorted from the premises by the angry sales manager before any increase could be established.

商店位于一家基督教家庭商店的折扣店(Family Christian Stores)旁。我们也不知道那天那家店的生意是不是比平时更好，因为未等有顾客决定掏钱购买，销售经理就怒气冲冲地把我们赶走了。

Events in the early hours of last Friday at the Century 16 cinema in nearby Aurora, where 12 people at a midnight screening of The Dark Knight Rises were shot dead, may have convinced some anxious customers to invest in a gun.

上周五凌晨，附近的奥罗拉(Aurora)市世纪16(Century 16)影院在放映《蝙蝠侠：黑暗骑士崛起》(Dark Knight Rises)时发生枪击事件，造成12人死亡。这起惨案或许会令一些顾客深感焦虑，并下决心买枪。

There is link between the Aurora shootings and the store in Thornton. One of three weapons used by the alleged perpetrator, 24-year-old James Holmes, was bought there.

位于桑顿的枪支店与奥罗拉枪击案有些关连。24岁的犯罪嫌疑人詹姆斯·霍姆斯(James Holmes)使用的三支枪之一，就是在这家店里买的。

The ease with which Mr Holmes allegedly assembled an arsenal of weaponry, including an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle, from legal suppliers, over just two months has reopened a fractious national debate about America’s relationship with firearms. In Colorado, where guns and hunting are an important part of the state’s identity, there is little support for new gun control restrictions: mass killings such as the 1999 massacre in Columbine high school, only 20 miles from Aurora, are dismissed as an aberration, the work of lone lunatics who would find a way to kill whether or not they had access to guns.

据称，霍姆斯通过合法渠道在两个月内轻松建起了一个“军火库，其中包括一支AR-15半自动步枪。这重新点燃了全美上下对枪支管制的激烈辩论。科罗拉多州视持枪权和狩猎为自己的重要特色。在这个州，没有多少人支持实施新的枪支管制措施。一个个血案被视作“意外，比如1999年在距奥罗拉仅20英里的科伦拜(Columbine)高中发生的校园枪击案。科罗拉多人认为，制造这些惨案的不过是一些自行其是的疯子，即便搞不到枪，这些人也会找到别的法子杀人。

“We have the right to bear arms in this country and if someone decides to use guns to do something bad?.?.?.?well, it’s not the guns, it’s the person, said Jose Rodriguez, who was visiting Gander Mountain with his wife and children, “I have guns and gun laws in this state are fine the way they are.

正带着妻子和孩子一起逛甘德山商店的乔斯·罗德里格斯(Jose Rodriguez)表示：“在这个国家，我们有权持有武器，如果有人想用枪做坏事……那错的不是那把枪，而是那个人。我有枪，我认为科罗拉多州现在的枪支法很好，不用改。

“What happened in Aurora was a tragedy but to buy a gun you have to have a background check and if you have anything bad on your record you can’t buy the gun.

罗德里格斯还说：“发生在奥罗拉的事件是个悲剧。但要买枪，你必须接受背景调查，如果有不良记录，你就买不到。

Whether these checks are sufficiently rigorous is open to question: the state and federal background checks on Mr Holmes failed to detect anything unusual and he was cleared to buy three weapons and 6,000 rounds of ammunition online. “There should have been a red flag, said Austin Hackbarth, a young firefighter from Aurora. Mr Hackbarth was one of several mourners attending a tribute to the dead across the street from the cinema complex. But he doubted that the cinema shooting would cause Colorado to reassess its relationship with guns. “I’m a big-time hunter?.?.?.?I just love hunting. Why should one incident, or a few?.?.?.?restrict everyone else’s rights?

此类背景调查是否足够严格，这值得怀疑：科罗拉多州和联邦政府对霍姆斯的背景调查未发现任何异常，他购买了3支枪，并在网上购买了6000发子弹，没有受到任何阻拦。奥罗拉市一名年轻的消防员奥斯汀·哈克巴特(Austin Hackbarth)说：“霍姆斯的行为本应引起注意。在奥罗拉市发生惨案的影院对面，人们正在为受害者举行悼念仪式，哈克巴特是悼念者之一。但哈克巴特表示，影院枪击案能否促使科罗拉多州重新评估现行的枪支管制规定，这是个未知数。哈克巴斯表示：“我热爱狩猎……就是喜欢。凭什么因为一件事或几件事……限制其他所有人的自由？

Since the Columbine attacks 32 people have been killed at Virginia Tech in 2007 when a lone gunman went on a rampage, while 13 died at a shooting at the Fort Hood military base in 2010. But the killings have done little to sway national opinion towards tighter restrictions on buying guns, such is the link between the right to bear arms and what it means to be American.

自科伦拜枪击案发生以来，又发生了几起枪击事件。2007年，弗吉尼亚理工学院(Virginia Tech)发生枪击事件。枪手单枪匹马，大肆射杀了32人。2010年，德克萨斯州胡德堡(Fort Hood)军事基地的枪击事件也导致13人死亡。但一起起血案几乎丝毫未能促使公众舆论转向要加强枪支管制。对美国人而言，持枪的权利就是这么意义重大。

That link has grown closer over the last 20 years.

近20年来，这种情况更明显了。

In 1990 a Gallup poll revealed that nearly 80 per cent of Americans supported tougher gun laws. A recent national poll by the Pew Research Center found 49 per cent of respondents favoured more “gun rights, with 45 per cent supporting tighter control. The surge in support for gun rights is reflected in the legislative landscape. A federal ban on assault weapons expired in 2004 and was not renewed: had it still been in force Mr Holmes would not have been able to buy the AR-15 which was allegedly used.

调查机构盖洛普(Gallup)1990年所做的一项调查显示，近80%的美国人支持加强枪支管制。皮尤研究中心(Pew Research Center)近期的一项全国调查则显示，只有45%的受访者支持加强枪支管制，49%的受访者支持让民众享有“持枪的权利。后一比率的飙升已反映在立法情况中。一项针对突击步枪的联邦禁令2004年到期后没有做延期：如果该禁令还在发挥效力，霍姆斯就不可能买到据称他使用了的那把AR-15。

With support for gun rights on an upward trajectory, there has been little political appetite for tougher laws, says Kristen Rand, legislative director of the Violence Policy Center, a non-profit group that supports gun control. “It’s definitely more challenging during a presidential election campaign. We have no expectations that the president will want to do anything regarding guns.

支持枪支管制的非盈利组织暴力政策中心(Violence Policy Center)法务主管克里斯滕·兰德(Kristen Rand)表示，鉴于支持枪支持有权的民众比率呈上升趋势，政界一直对加强枪支管制兴趣不大。兰斯说：“在大选期间号召加强枪支管制，这无疑更加困难。我们不指望美国人会选出一位打算过问枪支管制问题的总统。

There are doubts about what modifying existing laws could have done to prevent last week’s massacre. “What kind of gun control law would have stopped the Aurora shooter from getting guns? said Adam Winkler, a law professor at UCLA. “The suspect had no known mental illness and no criminal record. The only gun control law that would have stopped him would have be a ban on the sale of guns. And that just isn’t going to happen.

修改现行枪支法是否有助于防止上周惨案的发生，对此有人表示怀疑。加州大学洛杉矶分校(UCLA)法学教授亚当·温克勒(Adam Winkler)说：“怎样的枪支管制法可能阻止奥罗拉枪击案中的枪手获得枪支？嫌犯既没有被诊断患有精神病，也没有犯罪记录。颁布枪支销售禁令是立法方面可能阻止嫌犯的唯一方法。而颁布这样的禁令绝不可能。