美国痼疾难除的枪支暴力严重践踏人权文章源自英文巴士-https://www.en84.com/7493.html
The Long-Lasting Unsolved Problem of Gun Violence in the United States Has Aggressively Trampled on Human Rights文章源自英文巴士-https://www.en84.com/7493.html
文章源自英文巴士-https://www.en84.com/7493.html
中国人权研究会文章源自英文巴士-https://www.en84.com/7493.html
China Society for Human Rights Studies文章源自英文巴士-https://www.en84.com/7493.html
文章源自英文巴士-https://www.en84.com/7493.html
2019年8月文章源自英文巴士-https://www.en84.com/7493.html
August 2019文章源自英文巴士-https://www.en84.com/7493.html
文章源自英文巴士-https://www.en84.com/7493.html
近日，美国连续发生多起严重枪击案，引发美国及国际舆论广泛关注。2019年8月3日，一位名叫帕特里克·克鲁修斯的犯罪嫌疑人端着AK－47步枪进入得克萨斯州埃尔帕索的一家沃尔玛商店，向购物民众疯狂射击，造成22人死亡、20余人受伤。8月4日凌晨，在俄亥俄州代顿市密布酒吧、餐馆和剧院的俄勒冈区，24岁的白人青年康纳·贝茨手持装有100发子弹的AR－15步枪，向街道上的行人射击，造成9人死亡、27人受伤。这两起枪击案再次凸显了美国枪支泛滥的严重后果，折射出美国政治和社会制度的深刻危机，反映了“美式人权”的根本缺陷。文章源自英文巴士-https://www.en84.com/7493.html
Recently, a number of deadly mass shootings have taken place in the United States, which have caused widespread concern in the United States and the international community. On August 3, 2019, El Paso shooter Patrick Krusius with an AK-47 rifle in hand went on a shooting spree in a busy Walmart store located in El Paso, Texas, killing 22 people and wounding more than 20. In the early morning of August 4, the Oregon District, a lively area full of bars, restaurants, and theaters in Dayton, Ohio, became a grisly crime scene, when the 24-year-old Caucasian Connor Betts shot at the pedestrians on the streets with an AR-15-style rifle loaded with 100 bullets, killing 9 people and wounding 27. These two mass shootings have once again exposed the grave consequences of the proliferation of guns in the United States. They have reflected the profound crisis in the US political and social systems and highlighted the United States’ hypocrisy on human rights.
一、美国枪支泛滥、枪支暴力严重
Part 1 The Proliferation of Guns and the Serious Problem of Gun Violence in the United States
美国是全世界私人拥有枪支最多的国家，民间枪支数量庞大，且呈现出不断增加的趋势。2000年美国私人拥枪数量为2.59亿支，目前美国私人拥枪数量已超过美国人口数。根据盖洛普民调机构2011年的调查，47%的美国成年人自报拥有枪支。美国南部成人拥枪率高达54%。一方面，对暴力威胁的担忧导致许多人为求自保纷纷购枪，另一方面，枪支泛滥又是造成暴力犯罪居高不下的重要原因。大量枪支散布在民间，使得美国成为枪击案件频发、枪击伤亡数量惊人的国家。美国疾病防治中心2014年报告称，由于普遍存在校园霸凌现象，美国约有20万到25万名中学生携带武器上学。据统计，8.6%受欺凌的学生带过武器上学，4.6%即使没受欺凌的学生也带过武器上学。
The United States has the largest number of privately-owned guns in the world, and this number, which is large already, is continuously increasing. In 2000, there were 259 million guns in private hands in the United States. By now, the number of privately-owned guns in the United States has already exceeded the number of US residents. According to a Gallup survey conducted in 2011, 47 percent of US adults reported that they had guns, and in the southern United States, 54 percent of adults had guns. On the one hand, concerns about the threat of violence have led many US people to buy guns for self-protection. On the other hand, the proliferation of guns has increasingly become an important cause of violent crime. Since a large number of guns are privately held across the country, the United States has seen frequent shooting cases and an alarming number of shooting casualties. According to the 2014 report of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), because of the widespread school bullying phenomena, about 200,000 to 250,000 middle school students in the United States carried weapons to school, and according to statistics, 8.6 percent of the students who had been bullied before took weapons to school, and 4.6 percent of the students who had never been bullied also took weapons to school.
枪支泛滥必然带来枪支暴力。美国是世界上枪支暴力最严重的国家。2018年美国共发生涉枪案件57103件，导致14717人死亡、28172人受伤，其中未成年人死伤3502人。《赫芬顿邮报》网站2018年12月6日报道，对美国2000年至2016年枪支致死官方数据的分析发现，枪支暴力导致美国人均预期寿命减少近2.5岁，其中非洲裔减少4.14岁。美国的枪击案件造成大量人员伤亡，恶性枪杀案件更是形成对公众安全的重大威胁。枪支暴力严重践踏人权，特别是直接侵犯了美国民众的生命权。
The proliferation of guns will inevitably lead to gun violence. The United States is the country with the most gun violence in the world. In 2018, a total of 57,103 gun cases occurred in the United States, resulting in 14,717 deaths and 28,172 injuries, including 3,502 deaths and injuries of minors. The Huffington Post website reported on December 6, 2018, that an analysis of official data on gun deaths from 2000 to 2016 in the United States found that gun violence caused the average life expectancy of people in the US to drop nearly 2.5 years, with African-Americans decreasing by 4.14 years. Recurrent shooting cases have caused a large number of casualties in the United States, and deadly mass shootings have already become a major threat to public safety. Gun violence has severely violated human rights in the United States, especially the US people’s right to life.
美国枪支暴力痼疾难除。据统计，在美国非正常死亡人群中，枪杀是仅次于交通事故的第二大死因，平均每年有1.5万人左右遭到枪杀。根据美国联邦调查局2016年秋季发布的年度《统一犯罪报告》的统计，发生在美国的谋杀案件中有71.5%使用了枪支，抢劫案件中有40.8%使用了枪支，严重暴力袭击案件中有24.2%使用了枪支。自1972年以来，美国平均每天有80多人因枪杀案毙命，其中约12人为儿童。在枪支暴力事件的发生数量上，美国远远超过其他发达国家。美国人口仅占全球总人口的5%，发生在公共场所的大规模枪击事件却占到全球的31%。
Gun violence is a long-lasting unsolved problem in the United States. According to statistics, among the non-natural causes of death in the United States, shootings are the second-leading cause of death after traffic accidents, with an average of 15,000 people being shot every year. According to the Uniform Crime Report (UCR) released by the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in the fall of 2016, in the United States, 71.5 percent of the murder cases, 40.8 percent of the robbery cases, and 24.2 percent of serious violent attacks have involved guns. Since 1972, in the United States, more than 80 people on average, including about 12 children, have been killed by gunshots per day. No other developed country has seen so many gun violence incidents occur within its borders as the United States has. At present, the US population accounts for only 5 percent of the world’s population, yet 31 percent of the world’s mass shooting incidents in public places have happened in this country.
频繁发生的恶性枪击事件已成为美国标志性特征。美国发生的严重枪击案件不时会上新闻媒体的头版头条。在电影院和校园等人员密集场所发生的枪击案常常造成严重伤亡。2017年10月1日晚，64岁的白人男子史蒂芬·帕多克在拉斯维加斯从曼德勒海湾宾馆32层的房间向楼下露天演唱会2万多名观众开枪扫射。枪击持续了10至15分钟，造成近60人死亡、500余人受伤。这是美国现代史上最为严重的枪击案。事后，警察在其酒店房间与家中共搜出42支枪、数千发子弹及爆炸物。
Recurrent deadly shooting cases have become a hallmark feature of the United States. Serious shooting incidents in the United States frequently make headlines on different media around the world. The mass shootings that have happened in crowded public places, such as cinemas and schools, have often caused serious casualties. On the evening of October 1, 2017, the 64-year-old Caucasian Stephen Paddock indiscriminately fired rifle rounds from the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay Hotel in Las Vegas at more than 20,000 spectators at the outdoor concert downstairs. The shooting lasted for 10 to 15 minutes, killing nearly 60 people and injuring more than 500 people. This incident is by far the deadliest mass shooting in modern American history. After the incident, the police found 42 guns, thousands of bullets, and explosives in the shooter’s hotel room and home.
二、美国枪支泛滥的制度原因
Part 2 Institutional Reasons for the Proliferation of Guns in the United States
尽管枪支暴力严重威胁民众生命安全，但美国一直无法解决这个问题。美国枪支暴力痼疾难除，同美国特殊的社会政治制度有直接关联。
Although gun violence is a serious threat to the lives of the US people, the United States has been unable to solve this problem in all these years. Gun violence has become a long-lasting problem in the country due to various reasons that are directly related to the country’s special social and political systems.
第一，美国僵硬的宪法规定使得全面禁枪无法实现。美国宪法第二修正案规定，“纪律严明的民兵乃保障自由国家的安全所必需，人民持有与携带武器的权利不容侵犯”。这条宪法修正案制定于1791年，反映了刚刚通过独立战争从英国独立出来的北美人民的愿望，在一定程度上满足了当时美国人的实际需求。正是在民众普遍拥枪的背景下，北美13州人民才开始武力反抗英国殖民统治，组建以民兵为主体的“大陆军”，并最终赢得独立。这种特殊的历史经验使得美国人相信，持枪权是一项至关重要的权利。这项规定对美国政治生活产生了重要影响。美国44个州的宪法中都明确规定要保护公民持枪的权利。
1. The rigid constitutional provisions of the United States have made it impossible to achieve a comprehensive ban on guns. The Second Amendment to the US Constitution reads in the following manner: “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.” This constitutional amendment was enacted in 1791. Back then, it reflected the aspirations of US people, who had just gained independence from Britain through the War of Independence, and to some extent, met their actual needs. It is precisely because most people in the 13 states of North America owned guns that they were able to launch a military campaign against the British colonial rule, establish the Continental Army mainly consisting of militia, and eventually win independence. This special historical experience has led the people in the United States to believe that gun ownership is a vital right. This provision has had a major impact on the country’s politics. There are 44 states in the United States that have protected the citizens’ right to bear arms in their constitutions.
但是，随着枪支威力的不断增强，随着城市化造成的人口密度增加，私人普遍拥枪的负面影响日益显现。世界各国普遍承认，私人持枪不利公共安全。私人普遍拥枪同枪支暴力有直接关系，会造成大量人员伤亡和暴力犯罪现象增加。绝大多数国家都对私人持枪采取严格控制的政策。美国宪法规定的持枪权已明显不符合现代社会需要。事实上，多年以前美国社会就认识到了持枪权的负面影响和枪支泛滥的危险性，并探讨通过修改宪法实现禁枪的可能性。然而，修宪在美国门槛很高，且过程复杂、漫长。在美国持枪文化深厚、持枪人口众多和枪支利益集团势力强大的情况下，试图通过修宪禁枪，成功的可能性微乎其微。
Nevertheless, given the increasing power of guns and the increase in population density caused by urbanization, the negative effects of privately-owned guns are becoming increasingly apparent. It is widely acknowledged by different countries in the world that privately owned guns are not conducive to public safety. The proliferation of guns in private hands is directly related to gun violence and may cause a large number of casualties and an increase in violent crime. Given this, most countries have strict control over privately owned guns. The right to hold guns under the US Constitution clearly does not accord with the needs of modern society. In fact, many years ago, the US society recognized the negative impact of privately-owned guns and the danger of gun proliferation, and discussed the possibility of banning privately owned guns by amending the Constitution. Unfortunately, it is an incredibly difficult, complicated, and time-consuming task to amend the Constitution of the United States. Given the strong gun culture, a large number of gun holders, and powerful interest groups that support privately owned guns in the United States, the attempt to ban privately owned guns by amending the US Constitution has little chance of success.
实现宪法禁枪的另一条可能途径是美国联邦最高法院对宪法重新进行解释。事实上，历史上许多宪法条款都经由联邦最高法院的重新解释解决了滞后性问题。然而，美国社会对宪法第二修正案一直存在不同解读。一种观点认为宪法第二修正案保护的是公民个人权利，另一种观点认为宪法第二修正案保护的是集体权利，因为该条款中的“民兵”组织是一个集体。在历次枪支问题争论中，自由派都把集体权利论作为控枪的理论根据，希望联邦最高法院通过这种解释控制枪支泛滥现象。但是，2008年6月联邦最高法院对赫勒案的裁决却让自由派的希望灰飞烟灭。在这个裁决中，联邦最高法院认定，持有和携带枪支是一项“天赋”人权，公民个人有权拥有和使用枪支，地方政府制订控枪法律是违宪行为。2010年6月，美国联邦最高法院进一步裁定，美国宪法第二修正案中有关公民享有持枪自由的条款同样适用于各州和地方法律，从而将个人持有枪支的权利扩大到整个美国。美国联邦最高法院的这两个裁决彻底消除了通过释宪禁枪的可能性。
Another possible way to achieve a constitutional ban on privately owned guns is by asking the US Supreme Court to reinterpret the relevant constitutional provisions. In the history of the United States, the US Supreme Court has reinterpreted many constitutional provisions to make them meet the requirements of the times. There are always two different interpretations of the Second Amendment to the US Constitution in US society. One interpretation holds that the Second Amendment protects the individual rights of citizens. The other believes that it protects the collective rights of the states because the word “Militia” in the article is a militant collective. In previous debates on guns, the liberals took the collective rights theory as the theoretical basis for gun control, and hoped that the US Supreme Court would accept this interpretation to control the proliferation of guns. Unfortunately, in June 2008, the US Supreme Court’s ruling on the Heller case completely destroyed the liberals’ hopes. In this ruling, the US Supreme Court held that the possession and carrying of firearms is a “natural” human right, that individual citizens have the right to own and use firearms, and that it is unconstitutional for local governments to establish gun control laws. In June 2010, the US Supreme Court further ruled that the provisions of the Second Amendment to the US Constitution concerning the freedom of individual possession of guns also apply to state and local laws, thereby extending the individual right of possessing guns throughout the United States. These two rulings of the US Supreme Court completely eliminated the possibility of banning privately owned guns through adopting a different interpretation of the relevant constitutional provisions.
第二，美国政党政治的弊端使控枪努力停滞不前。由于美国禁枪无望，所以只能想办法管控枪支，即从枪支购买方式、购买资格以及流通枪支的类型、登记和管理等方面做出限制性规定。但是，即使这种对个人拥枪的有限约束，也遇到重重阻力。近几十年来，美国政治“极化”现象严重，两党对立加剧。两党核心选民团体在这个问题上的主张截然对立。民主党支持枪支管制，主张实行更为严格的枪支管制政策，共和党则反对枪支管制。枪支管控已成为总统和国会选举的主要议题之一，并已成为决定竞选成败的重要因素。克林顿政府时期，美国国会通过《联邦攻击性武器禁售令》，明确禁止在民间出售19种攻击性较强的半自动枪械以及10发以上的子弹夹，在控枪问题上取得一些进展。奥巴马政府时期，鉴于美国枪击暴力案件居高不下、校园枪击等恶性案件频繁发生，参议院民主党人提出枪支管理修正案，要求将购枪背景审查范围扩展到枪支展销会和网上购枪领域。尽管该法案得到90％美国人的支持，但还是在2013年被参议院否决了。事实上，奥巴马政府推动的控枪法案全部铩羽而归。在此背景下，2016年1月，奥巴马政府不得不绕开国会，用发布行政命令的方式管控枪支，规定禁止精神病患者持有枪支，要求枪支经销商持证上岗，加强枪支购买者的背景审查。但是，随着共和党政府上台，奥巴马政府这些微弱的控枪措施也无法得到保持。
2. The drawbacks of US party politics have hindered gun control efforts. As there is no hope of banning privately owned guns, the United States can only find ways to control firearms, that is, to restrict how guns are purchased, registered, and managed. Nonetheless, the implementation of such a limited number of constraints on privately owned guns has met with many obstacles. In recent decades, the phenomenon of “polarization” in US politics has become increasingly apparent, and the opposition between the Democratic Party and the Republican Party has intensified. Core voters of the two parties hold completely opposing perspectives on gun control. The Democratic Party supports gun control and advocates a stricter gun control policy, while the Republican Party opposes gun control. Gun control has become one of the major topics in the presidential and congressional elections, and a candidate’s attitude on this issue has become an important factor in determining the success or failure of his or her election campaign. During the Clinton administration, the US Congress passed the “Federal Assault Weapons Ban (AWB)”, which explicitly prohibited the sales of 19 highly aggressive semi-automatic firearms and more than 10 bullet clips in the private sector, and made some progress on the issue of gun control. During the Obama administration, given the high incidence of shooting violence in the United States and frequent school shootings, the Senate Democrats proposed a gun control amendment, which would require that the background checks on gun buyers include buyers at gun shows and online. Despite that this amendment was supported by 90 percent of US citizens, it was rejected by the Senate in 2013. As its gun control bills were repeatedly killed off by Congress, in January 2016, the Obama administration began to bypass Congress and tried to control firearms by issuing administrative orders, which stipulated that mental patients should be prohibited from holding guns, required gun dealers to hold certificates, and strengthened the background checks on gun buyers. Later, when the Republican government took office, these weak gun control measures of the Obama administration could not be maintained.
由于受到美国选举政治支配，近年来民主党对枪支管控的立场持续软化，因为严格控枪政策不利于民主党选票最大化。克林顿政府时期，民主党在1994年中期选举中丢失了参众两院控制权，政府坚持通过了两个控枪法案成为民主党失去大量选票与资助的主要原因。戈尔在副总统任上曾经以参议院院长的身份投票支持一项枪支管制法案，这使他被视为反对持枪者，成为其最终在总统选举中落败的一个重要因素。这些活生生的教训使民主党在枪支管制问题上态度变得摇摆不定。一方面，他们不敢明确支持枪支管制，因为激进的控枪政策会丢失大量选票；另一方面，他们更不敢反对枪支管制，因为这会失去传统选民。民主党在枪支问题上的立场开始变得有些模糊。为了争取更多选票和政治献金，一些参选公职的民主党政治人物甚至不敢要求严格控枪，更不敢要求全面禁枪。
Given the election politics in the United States and the fact that strict gun control policies are not conducive to maximizing Democratic votes, the Democratic Party has gradually softened up its attitude on gun control in recent years. During the Clinton administration, the Democratic Party lost control of the Senate and House of Representatives in the mid-term elections in 1994. The main reason the Democratic Party lost such a large amount of votes and funds was that the Clinton administration insisted on passing two gun control bills. Gore, a Democratic candidate for president, was thought of as a protestor to the possession of privately-owned guns, since he had voted for a gun control bill when serving as the president of the Senate and the vice president of the United States. This was one of the major reasons for his failure in the presidential election. The Democratic Party has learned its lessons, and thus its opinion on gun control has begun to waver. It dares not explicitly support gun control because radical gun control policies will make it lose a large number of votes. It is also less willing to oppose gun control because it will make them lose the support of its traditional voters. Its attitude on the issue of firearms has begun to become somewhat vague. To win more votes and political contributions, some Democratic politicians who run for office do not even dare to demand strict gun control, not to mention a comprehensive ban on privately owned guns.
共和党一贯支持持枪权，反对严格管制枪支。共和党执政时期，美国通常会放松枪支管制。里根政府时期，国会于1986年通过《武器拥有者保护法》，大幅放宽对枪支销售者和购买者的限制，将联邦政府部门对枪支的检查限定为每年一次。这个法律极大强化了美国的持枪权，是美国枪支管制方面的严重倒退。小布什政府时期，《联邦攻击性武器禁售令》10年期满，国会拒绝重新进行审议，致使法案最后自动失效。
The Republican Party always supports the possession of privately-owned guns and opposes strict control over firearms. Given this, Republican administrations usually loosen control over privately owned guns. For example, during the Reagan administration, Congress passed the Firearm Owners’ Protection Act in 1986, which drastically relaxed restrictions on gun sellers and buyers, and stipulated that the inspection on firearms by the federal government is to be carried out once a year. This Act significantly strengthened gun rights in the United States and was a serious retrogression in the cause of pursuing proper gun control in the United States. During the Bush administration, when the Federal Assault Weapons Ban (AWB) was about to run out its 10-year term, Congress refused to review the AWB and let it expire automatically.
当前的共和党政府支持私人持枪自由。2017年2月，共和党控制的参、众两院废除了奥巴马政府发布的一项行政命令。该行政命令禁止患有某些严重精神疾病的患者购枪，要求精神疾病患者的医疗保险商向联邦调查局提交相关身份信息以供购枪许可审核。2018年4月，美国副总统彭斯出席全国步枪协会年会并发表讲话说：“总统和我都问心无愧地支持宪法第二修正案。本届政府不会侵犯人民拥有和携带武器的权利。”鉴于严重的校园枪击事件，2018年3月，佛罗里达州参议院通过一项允许教师在校园内携枪的法案。随后，美国联邦政府也提出类似的计划，要求通过武装学校教职员工来阻止校园枪击案的发生。根据共和党一贯反对控枪的立场，有理由相信美国未来会进一步放松枪支管理。美国解决枪支泛滥问题的前景十分渺茫，枪支暴力和枪击伤亡事件恐怕只会增加，不会减少。
The current Republican administration still supports private gun ownership. In February 2017, the Republican-controlled Senate and House of Representatives abolished an administrative order issued by the Obama administration, which prohibited patients with certain serious mental illness from buying guns, and required mentally ill patients’ medical insurers to submit relevant identification information to the FBI for approval of these patients’ gun purchases. In April 2018, US Vice President Pence attended the annual meeting of the National Rifle Association of America (NRA) and said in a speech, “The president and I both have a clear conscience to support the Second Amendment. The current administration will not violate the people’s right to own and carry weapons.” Because of deadly school shooting incidents, in March 2018, the Florida Senate passed a bill that allowed teachers to carry guns in schools. Subsequently, the US federal government also proposed a similar plan to prevent the occurrence of school shootings by arming school staff. Given the Republican Party’s consistent opposition to gun control, there is a reason to believe that the United States will further relax its gun management in the future. The prospects for the United States to solve the problem of gun proliferation are very slim. The incidents of gun violence and shooting casualties may continue to increase.
共和党拥护持枪权的立场不但影响国会立法，而且影响到联邦最高法院裁决。2010年，共和党支持者占多数的联邦最高法院对麦克唐纳案做出裁决，判定美国公民在全国各州各市都可以依据宪法赋予的权利拥有枪支，即持枪权适用于全国。这个裁决生效后，美国的枪支管控水平大幅后退，一半左右的州修改原有法律，以便允许枪支拥有者在大多数公共场所公开携带枪支。随着伊利诺伊州于2014年1月5日正式实施隐蔽持枪法，隐蔽持有和携带武器在美国50个州全部合法。隐蔽持枪法规定，除禁止民众在政府大楼、学校、医院和公交车等公共场所携带或者持有枪支外，获得持枪证的人可以在任何地方隐蔽携带枪支，这就意味着会有更多的枪支出现在大街小巷。费城、洛杉矶、旧金山等20多个机场允许有枪支许可的人携带枪支到安检口。在得克萨斯州北部的学校，校方允许教师携带枪支到校。田纳西州、亚利桑那州、佐治亚州和弗吉尼亚州允许在酒吧里携带装有弹药的手枪。还有另外18个州允许在提供酒精饮品的饭店里携带武器。
The Republican Party’s support for gun rights not only affects Congressional legislation, but also affects the Supreme Court’s rulings. In 2010, the US Supreme Court, dominated by Republican supporters, ruled on the McDonald’s case, arguing that US citizens in all states and cities can own guns as this is their constitutional right. That means the right to hold guns applies nationwide. Since that ruling went into effect, gun control in the United States has been significantly loosened, and about half of the states in the United States have amended their original laws to allow gun owners to openly carry guns in most public places. With the official implementation of Illinois’s Firearm Concealed Carry Act (FCCA) on January 5, 2014, the possession and carrying of concealed firearms became legal in all 50 states of the United States. The FCCA stipulates that people who have obtained concealed weapon licenses can carry concealed guns anywhere, except in public places, such as government buildings, schools, hospitals, and buses. This means that there will be more guns on the streets. More than 20 airports, including those in Philadelphia, Los Angeles, and San Francisco, allow gun owners to carry guns to the security checkpoint. At schools in northern Texas, teachers are allowed to carry guns in schools. Tennessee, Arizona, Georgia, and Virginia allow pistols with ammunition to be carried in bars. There are another 18 states that allow weapons to be carried in restaurants that offer alcohol.
第三，利益集团是美国控枪的最大阻力。美国控枪难有成效，除了美国社会根深蒂固的持枪文化这个因素以外，还有利益集团因素。如果说法律因素是“表”的话，利益集团因素则是美国控枪难问题的“里”，是主要原因。美国的枪支制造、买卖和使用已形成庞大产业链，涉及庞大利益。根据美国全国广播公司2015年报道，美国的枪支和弹药制造业年收益达135亿美元，枪支和弹药商店平均年收益31亿美元，实际盈利达到4亿7840万美元，枪支制造和销售行业缴税总额达到20亿美元，雇佣26.3万全职员工，仅正式登记的武器销售点就有10万个之多。美国枪支和弹药行业的总体经济影响估计达429亿美元。反对枪支管控的协会组织是枪支行业和持枪者利益的代表，在控枪议题上拥有强大影响力。在美国，反对控枪的利益集团有全国步枪协会、全国持枪者协会、全国射击运动协会、全国枪支权利协会等12个组织。这些利益集团为美国总统选举和国会选举提供大量政治捐款，仅2010年至2018年期间就通过政治行动委员会捐款1.13亿美元。全国步枪协会是美国主要的反控枪组织，创立于1871年，有500万会员，其中包括实力强大的枪支生产商和经销商。该组织的宗旨就是反对枪支管制，具体的活动方式包括开展拥枪宣传、组织反控枪行动、进行院外游说和政治捐助等。全国步枪协会是美国最有影响力的院外游说组织，每年运营经费高达2.5亿美元，竞选年份经费更多。根据有关统计数据，全国步枪协会在2016年总统选举中捐出政治竞选资金5440万美元，其中3000万美元捐给了共和党候选人。根据美国有线电视新闻网统计，目前美国国会两院的535名成员中，有307人要么直接从协会及其附属机构处获得过竞选资金，要么就是从协会的广告活动中受益。全国步枪协会向国会议员捐出政治献金，数额较大的20笔都流向共和党籍议员。近年来，以全国步枪协会为代表的美国反枪支管制利益集团取得了巨大成功，几乎封杀了所有控枪法案，使美国枪支管制更加宽松。
3. Interest groups are the biggest resistance to gun control efforts in the United States. In addition to the deep-rooted gun culture in US society, interest groups are another important factor causing difficulties in achieving proper gun control in the United States. The legal factor is just a reason on the surface, the real reason is the influence of interest groups. The production, sales, and use of guns in the United States have formed a huge industrial chain that generates tremendous interests. According to a National Broadcasting Company (NBC) report in 2015, the gun and ammunition manufacturing industry in the United States earned a collective annual revenue of approximately $13.5 billion; guns and ammunition stores had an average annual income of $3.1 billion, and their actual profits reached $478.4 million. Gun production and sales industries paid $2 billion in taxes, and provided 263,000 full-time jobs, with 100,000 retailers officially registered to sell weapons. The total economic impact of the US gun and ammunition industry is estimated to be valued at $42.9 billion. The associations that oppose gun control and represent the interests of the gun industry and the people who carry guns wield great influence on the issue of gun control. In the United States, the interest groups that oppose gun control include 12 national organizations, such as the National Rifle Association of America (NRA), Gun Owners of America (GOA), National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF), and the National Association for Gun Rights, etc. These interest groups have made substantial political donations to US presidential elections and congressional elections. They donated $113 million through the Political Action Committee (PAC) from 2010 to 2018 alone. Founded in 1871, the National Rifle Association of America, the leading organization that opposes gun control in the United States, has 5 million members, including powerful gun manufacturers and distributors. To fulfill its mission to oppose gun control, the association conducts specific activities to advocate gun ownership, oppose gun control, lobby, and make political donations. The NRA is the most influential lobbying organization in the United States, with annual operating expenses of $250 million and more expenses during election years. According to relevant statistics, the NRA donated $54.4 million for political campaign funds during the 2016 presidential election, among which $30 million was donated to Republican candidates. According to CNN, at present, 307 of the 535 Senators and Representatives of Congress have either obtained campaign funds directly from the association and its affiliates, or have benefited from the association’s advertising campaigns. The NRA has made numerous political donations to congressmen, among which 20 large donations were given to Republican congressmen. In recent years, the US interest groups that oppose gun control, represented by the NRA, have achieved great success. They have succeeded in killing off almost all gun control bills and further relaxing gun control in the United States.
第四，枪支泛滥同美国警察过度使用枪支现象有相当关系。美国警方在执法过程中滥用枪支现象非常严重。警察常常暴力执法，在执法过程中往往以被执法对象疑似持有枪支等武器为由过度使用枪械，造成大量人员伤亡。2017年，美国警察枪杀987人。在被警察枪杀的人中，有很多是无辜者。《华盛顿邮报》报道，截至2016年7月8日，在半年多一点时间内被美国警方枪杀的509人中，至少有124人是精神疾病患者。警察滥用职权枪杀平民却极少被追究刑事责任，每年有约1000名平民被警察射杀，至少致死400人，但在2005年至2016年的10多年里，只有77名警察因此而被指控犯有过失杀人罪或谋杀罪，平均每年仅为7.7人，并且绝大多数都被免予起诉。2015年前5个月，美国警察枪击致死人数达385人，平均每天致死超过2人。而与此形成强烈反差的是，这期间被起诉的警察只有3人，还不到总数的1%。这种情况引起很大社会反响。2015年，射杀17岁非洲裔男孩麦克唐纳的芝加哥警察，迟迟未被起诉，公众为此举行抗议游行。该警察之前曾遭20项投诉，居然未受到任何追究。
4. The proliferation of guns is closely related to the excessive use of guns by the US police. The US police often use guns excessively and resort to violence in performing their duty. Their excessive use of guns has caused a large number of casualties when dealing with targets suspected of carrying weapons. In 2017, the US police shot and killed 987 people, many of whom were innocent. The Washington Post reported in 2016 that as of July 8, at least 124 of the 509 people shot by US police in half a year were mentally ill. The policemen abuse their authority to shoot civilians but are rarely investigated for criminal responsibility. Every year, about 1,000 civilians are shot by the police and at least 400 of them die. In contrast, from 2005 to 2016, only 77 policemen were accused of manslaughter or murder, averaging only 7.7 people per year, and the vast majority of them were exempt from prosecution. In the first five months of 2015, the number of deaths caused by US policemen by using guns reached 385, an average of more than two people per day. In sharp contrast, only three policemen were accused during this period, less than 1 percent of the total. This situation has caused great social repercussions. In 2015, the Chicago police officer who fatally shot the 17-year-old African-American boy McDonald was not prosecuted for a long time, which resulted in a protest by the public. This police officer had suffered 20 complaints before, but he had never been investigated.
由于上述根本性的制度原因，美国枪支问题看不到解决的前景。美国深陷枪支泥淖，在枪支管制方面进退两难，充分反映了其所谓的自由民主制度遭遇困境。美国政治制度不能解决个人自由与公共安全的矛盾，无法维持两者之间的平衡。当天平向个人持枪自由过度倾斜、造成大量人员伤亡、威胁公共安全时，美国政府无力纠正，任由事态持续恶化。“美式民主”找不到解决枪支问题的出路，因为美国民主的根基是竞选，而竞选离不开金钱。枪支利益集团通过金钱捐赠获得政治影响力，阻止政府控枪。同时，候选人为了争取拥护持枪权的选民的选票，常常迎合他们。另外，美国党派政治已经渗透到号称独立的国家司法机构——联邦最高法院，使联邦最高法院面对枪支管制问题时陷于分裂。枪支管制问题折射出美国政治制度的根本困境，宣告美国自由民主走进死胡同。
Due to the above-mentioned fundamental institutional reasons, the gun issue in the United States has no hope to be settled, and the US government is in a dilemma regarding gun control, which fully reflects the predicament of its so-called liberal democracy. The US political system fails to resolve the contradiction between individual liberty and public security and cannot maintain a balance between the two. The United States government is unable to correct the deteriorating situation in which the individual freedom to carry weapons causes heavy casualties and threatens public safety. “US Democracy” can’t find a way to solve the gun issue because the foundation of US democracy is general elections, which are inseparable from money. Gun-related interest groups gain political influence through monetary donations and they prevent the government from controlling guns. At the same time, candidates, with the purpose of winning more votes, often cater to voters who advocate the right to hold guns. In addition, US partisan politics has penetrated into the federal Supreme Court, which should be an independent national judicial body, causing divergence within the federal Supreme Court on gun control issues. The gun control issue reflects the fundamental dilemma of the US political system and declares that the US-style liberal democracy has encountered a dead end.
三、枪支泛滥带来严重社会问题
Part 3 The Serious Social Problems Caused by the Proliferation of Guns
美国枪支泛滥和枪支暴力产生严重后果。除了造成大量人员伤亡外，还催生更多的暴力和犯罪，使美国社会安全感大大降低。
The proliferation of guns and gun violence in the United States has serious consequences. In addition to causing a large number of casualties, it has also bred more violence and crimes, which has greatly reduced the sense of security in US society.
第一，枪支泛滥导致美国谋杀案大量发生。枪支同谋杀联系密切。由于大量枪支散布在美国民间，任何人都比较容易获得，且容易掌握使用技能，所以在冲突中使用枪支的可能性很大。有了枪支介入，小的争吵会升级为凶杀，抢劫、偷盗等犯罪行为如果持枪进行，就有可能演变为谋杀案件。毒品和枪支联系到一起，就可能催生更多的暴力犯罪。黑社会性质的有组织犯罪，会因为枪支的缘故造成更大危害。在社会普遍拥枪的情况下，非法买卖枪支、未经登记而持有枪支的现象必定大量发生，“黑枪”必定更加难以控制。这一切都直接推高了美国的谋杀率。根据哈佛伤害控制研究中心对于多国情况的研究，私人持有枪支越多，谋杀案件发生的数量就越多，两者之间存在正相关关系。20世纪90年代，美国每年平均发生200万件暴力刑事犯罪和2.4万件谋杀案件。这些谋杀案件中的70%与枪支有关。根据联合国毒品与犯罪办公室发布的报告，2005至2012年，美国故意谋杀案中大约有60%都是通过使用枪支来实施的。枪支同暴力犯罪的密切联系也得到美国2017年发布的一项犯罪数据分析的支持。根据这项研究，一些州在放宽对隐匿持枪证的发放限制后，10年内当地暴力犯罪增加了10%至15%。
1. The proliferation of guns has led to a large number of murders in the United States. Guns are closely linked to murders. The US people own a large number of private guns. The easy access to guns leads to a high possibility of using guns in conflicts. With the intervention of guns, small quarrels may escalate into murders, and criminal acts such as robbery and theft may turn into murder cases if the criminals carry guns. When drugs and guns are linked together, more violent crime can be bred. Organized crimes of the gangs will cause greater harm when employing guns. Given the widespread private gun ownership in US society, it is unavoidable that a large number of guns will be sold illegally and possessed without registration, which increases the difficulty in gun control. All of this directly enhances the murder rate in the United States. According to the Harvard Injury Control Research Center’s study of multinational conditions, there is a positive correlation between privately owned guns and murders. In the 1990s, an average of 2 million violent criminal cases and 24,000 murders occurred in the United States per year, 70 percent of which were related to guns. According to a report issued by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, between 2005 and 2012, about 60 percent of intentional murders in the United States were carried out through the use of guns. The close link between guns and violent crimes is also proved by a crime data analysis released in the United States in 2017. According to the study, violent crimes in some states have increased by 10 to 15 percent in 10 years after relaxing restrictions on the issuance of Concealed Pistol Licenses.
第二，枪支泛滥导致校园枪击案不断发生。频繁发生的校园枪击案是美国特有现象，是美国枪支泛滥的结果。世界上其他严格控枪的国家，没有一个国家发生像美国那样多的校园枪击案。校园属人口密集的公共场所，一旦发生枪击案件，很容易造成较大伤亡。校园聚集了大量未成年人，他们缺乏自我防卫和应对意外情况的能力，在枪击事件中易受伤害。枪击事件的恐怖经历会给很多儿童造成长期伤害，导致学习成绩下降、社交障碍、抑郁、焦虑、睡眠不足、药物滥用等问题。每个学生后面都是一个家庭。校园枪击案的社会影响十分广泛。2018年美国共发生25起校园枪击事件，有25332名学生受到影响，其中33人丧生、61人受伤。超过400万少年儿童在2017至2018学年经历了校园封锁，很多人受到身心创伤。由于校园枪击案频繁发生，美国出现了教师持枪上课、学生挎枪上学的奇特景观。美国有的州甚至颁布法律，规定教师必须配枪。
2. The proliferation of guns has led to the constant occurrence of school shootings. Frequent school shootings are a peculiar phenomenon and the consequence of the proliferation of guns in the United States. No country with strict gun control suffers as many campus shootings as the United States. As campuses are densely populated public places, it is easy to cause heavy causalities in school shootings. A large collection of juveniles on campus cannot defend themselves, respond to unexpected situations, and are vulnerable in shooting incidents. The horrific experience of shooting incidents can cause long-term harm to many children, leading to problems such as poorer academic performance, social disabilities, depression, anxiety, lack of sleep, and drug abuse. The families of the students are affected as well. Therefore, the social impact of school shootings is extensive. In 2018, there were 25 campus shootings in the United States, affecting 25,332 students, 33 of whom were killed and 61 were injured. More than 4 million children have experienced a campus blockade in the 2017-2018 school year, and many have suffered physical and psychological trauma. Due to the frequent occurrence of school shootings, a peculiar phenomenon that teachers and students carry guns in school has emerged in the United States. Some states have even enacted laws requiring that teachers be equipped with guns.
第三，枪支暴力严重破坏美国民众的安全感。支持个人持枪权的一个论据是枪支能保护个人安全。但吊诡的是，如果人人持有枪支，每个人都会变得更不安全。由于大量发生的枪击案件，由于普遍存在的枪支暴力，美国成为一个极度缺乏安全的国家，民众深怀恐惧。他们必须依靠枪支保护自己。法律反映了美国民众的恐惧心理。许多州的法律允许公民在受到威胁的情况下开枪，即使在他们不用武力能够逃离威胁的情况下也可以开枪。这又加重了整个社会的不安全感。美国陷入了一种恶性循环。一方面，枪支在美国日趋泛滥，带来更多的安全隐患，恶性刑事犯罪日趋增多。另一方面，每当发生枪击事件后，出于对自身安全的担心和自我防卫的需要，更多的美国民众会去购买枪支。
3. Gun violence has seriously undermined the US people’s sense of security. One argument for supporting individual gun ownership is that guns can protect personal safety. But the paradox is that if everyone holds a gun, he or she will become more insecure. Due to the massive shooting incidents and widespread gun violence, the United States has become an extremely insecure country. Its people live in fear and are forced to rely on guns to protect themselves. The laws reflect the fear of the US people. Many state laws allow citizens to shoot in the event of a threat, even if they can escape the threat without the use of weapons. This adds to the sense of insecurity in society. The United States has fallen into a vicious circle. On the one hand, the increasing proliferation of guns in the United States has brought more security risks and increased the number of vicious criminal offenses. On the other hand, every time a shooting incident occurs, more US people will buy guns out of safety concerns and the need for self-defense.
美国民众的不安全感十分严重。根据2015年的一项盖洛普调查，37%的人表示不敢在离家一公里的范围内走夜路，家庭年收入在三万美元以下的低收入者的不安全感更加强烈，不敢走夜路的比例在40%以上。根据《美国公共卫生杂志》2017年的一项调查报告，有900万美国民众每月至少一次携带装弹手枪外出，其中的300万人甚至每天外出都携枪。《美国医学杂志》2016年2月的一项研究发现，美国人被枪杀的几率是其他发达国家的10倍。
The US people are living with a strong sense of insecurity. According to a Gallup poll in 2015, 37 percent of interviewees said they did not dare to walk one kilometer away from their household at night, and above 40 percent of the low-income people with annual family incomes below 30,000 US dollars dared not to walk anywhere at night. According to a 2017 survey by the American Journal of Public Health, 9 million American citizens carry a loaded pistol outdoors at least once a month, and 3 million of them even carry guns every day. A February 2016 study by the Journal of the American Medical Association found that Americans were 10 times more likely to be shot than those in other developed countries.
枪支暴力践踏人权是美国存在严重人权问题的缩影，也是美国个人主义极度膨胀的结果，反映了美国固有的制度问题。美国很多人错误地认为，只有拥有枪支才能保护自己。他们忘记了，个人安全离不开国家的保护。在控枪问题上，美国已经走入死胡同。美国社会的呼声根本改变不了持枪问题的立法和决策。在控枪问题上，我们看不到“两党极化”背景下美国民主的成效，因为两党都无所作为，回应不了美国社会现实提出的诉求。每时每刻，美国社会都面临发生枪支暴力案件的危险，都在敲响践踏人权的警钟。
Rampant gun violence is an epitome of serious human rights problems and the consequence of extremely overwhelming individualism in the United States, reflecting its inherent institutional problem. Many people in the United States mistakenly believe that they can protect themselves only with guns. They have forgotten that personal security is inseparable from protection by the state. On the issue of gun control, the United States has driven into a dead end. The demands of US society simply cannot change the legislation and decision-making of the gun issue. On the issue of gun control, we cannot see the effectiveness of US democracy, as it has been undermined by political polarization. Both parties have done nothing and failed to respond to the demands of the reality of US society. Every moment, US society is in danger of suffering from gun violence, and human rights are being trampled on.
