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