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槍響之後：擔心加緊管制 愛好者擠槍展買武器

2012-12-27 06:23:24

本報訊



策劃、編譯■李威撰

如何避免桑迪胡克小學的槍擊案重演？這是美國人現在共同關心的話題。
美國特殊的槍枝文化，究竟是暴力的肇因，還是對抗暴力的辦法？
購槍民眾又是怎麼看待？改革若是必要，政策能如何重塑這一文化？

美國各地的槍枝愛好者，22日蜂擁至各槍展會，購買攻擊性槍械。他們擔憂康州校園學生遭屠殺過後不久，會因為加緊對槍枝的管控，使得買賣成為非法。
《路透》記者前往賓州、密蘇里州及德州的槍展會，發現想要進入會場的民眾在門口大排長龍，攤商周圍更是擠滿人潮。即使花更多價錢，也要搶購攻擊性槍械，有些商家則是賣到一枝不剩。
參展的凱斯槍械店來自密蘇里州的西普萊恩斯，店家老闆凱斯葛雷表示，一個小時出頭，20枝AR-15型攻擊步槍便銷售一空。
槍枝專家們認為，嫌犯藍札從他母親那裡偷來使用的AR-15型攻擊武器，就是14日用來在康州新鎮的小學殺害20名學童及6名成人的兇器。
無辜孩童在校園被殺害的消息震驚全國，包括總統歐巴馬在內等政治人物，被迫呼籲禁止攻擊性槍械及能夠裝填多發子彈的彈匣。

全國步槍協會：應設置武裝警衛
勢力龐大的槍枝權遊說團體全國步槍協會21日出面，呼籲應在各校設置武裝警衛，而不是推動加緊槍枝所有權的管制。
22日在堪薩斯城的槍展上，伍迪是可以購買攻擊性槍械的民眾之一。他害怕之後會被禁，所以買了一把用來打靶的槍。提到AR-15型槍枝時，伍迪說：「我沒抱什麼希望，每家店都買不到。」
同樣的情節也發生在賓州的艾倫敦，來自附近貴格鎮的槍械店老闆唐利招呼川流不息的顧客。她說：「人人都想得到攻擊性槍械。」接著又說，康州發生慘案以來，她賣出的同種槍枝就超過1百枝。「都賣光啦。」她說。
攻擊性槍械是一個籠統詞彙，泛指可快速連發子彈的半自動或自動武器。1994年至2004年，有些攻擊性槍械及超過10發子彈的彈匣是禁止販售的。共和黨籍總統布希在位時，讓該禁令獲准到期解禁。

▲密蘇里堪薩斯城舉行槍展，民眾正在觀看桌上的手槍，圖攝於22日。

康州槍案過後，攻擊性槍械的價格攀升。22日在堪薩斯城的槍展上，拉特利夫花925美元（約新台幣2萬6,800元）買了一把用來打靶的AR-15。
霍夫麥斯特在堪薩斯城的槍展上也有設攤，他表示過去1星期賣出15到20枝AR-15。霍夫麥斯特說：「這些人當中，有些只是想彰顯自己的擁槍權。」

「槍枝管控無法避免屠殺案」
美國憲法的第二條修正案保障人民擁有武器，而22日大多數在會場上的槍枝愛好者表示，對槍枝加諸更多限制，無助於避免跟康州一樣的屠殺案發生。
來自曼斯菲爾德的烏亞特想要買槍，他前往德州沃斯堡的孤星展，跟他一起排隊的還有數十人。烏亞特說：「解決辦法不是限制民眾擁槍，如果某人想傷害別人，他們還是能找到其他方法。」
槍展上許多受訪的賣家買家，都支持全國步槍協會的提議，認為學校該設置武裝警衛。
22日早上，德州沃斯堡的威爾羅傑斯紀念中心3個出入口，排隊人潮都超過2百人。他們花費8美元的入場費，進入占地25英畝的展廳，展場走道擠滿民眾，他們站在攤位前尋找攻擊性槍械及彈匣。
上述3個槍展的觀展民眾，幾乎清一色是白人，其中夾雜一些女性及極少數的少數族裔。

背景調查有漏洞
美國1年舉行上千次槍展，而根據聯邦法規，有營業執照的賣家在槍展賣槍給買家前，必須先進行背景調查。但在批評人士批出了「漏洞」，無執照的收藏家及其他私人買賣並不需要進行背景調查。
根據紐約市2009年在7個槍展上所進行的私下調查，賣家在交易中面對承認自己可能無法通過背景調查的買家時，63％的賣家未進行「完整」調查。
展場上大多數受訪民眾表示不支持槍枝管控，但也不是每個人都反對。
在德州的槍展，艾伯納西坐下來接受30分鐘的背景調查，然後買了一把攻擊步槍離開。住在達拉斯的艾伯納西說：「背景調查應該更嚴格。」他表示，購買槍枝應該有要30天等候期，而完整的背景調查應該要納入5名保證人在內。（路透）

Gun enthusiasts thronged to shows around the country on Saturday to buy assault weapons they fear will soon be outlawed （1） after a massacre of school children in Connecticut prompted calls for tighter controls on firearms （2）.
Reuters reporters went to gun shows in Pennsylvania, Missouri and Texas, and found long lines to get in the door, crowds around the dealer booths, a rush to buy assault weapons even at higher prices and some dealers selling out.
West Plains, Missouri dealer Keith's Guns sold out of about 20 AR-15 style assault rifles in a little over an hour, owner Keith Gray said.
An AR-15 type assault weapon was among the guns authorities believe suspect Adam Lanza stole from his mother to use in the massacre （3） of 20 school children and six adults at a Newtown, Connecticut elementary school on December 14.
The killing of innocent children at the school shocked the nation and prompted a number of politicians including President Barack Obama to call for a ban on assault weapons and ammunition clips that allow the rapid firing of multiple bullets.
Rather than tighten gun ownership restrictions, the powerful lobby for gun rights, the National Rifle Association, on Friday called for armed guards at every school.
D.R. Woody was one of those able to purchase an assault weapon at the Kansas City show on Saturday. He bought the gun for target practice because he is concerned they soon will be banned. "I didn't expect to find one. No gun stores have them," said Woody of the AR-15 type of gun.
The story was the same in Allentown, Pennsylvania, where Shirley Donley, a gun shop owner from nearby Quakertown, had an endless stream of customers. "Everybody wants assault weapons," she said, adding that she had sold more than 100 of that type of gun since the Connecticut tragedy. "I'm sold out."
Assault weapon is a broad term commonly used to refer to semi-automatic or automatic weapons that can fire multiple bullets rapidly. From 1994 to 2004 certain assault weapons and ammunition clips of more than 10 bullets were illegal. The ban was allowed to expire when Republican George W. Bush was in the White House.
Prices for assault weapons have surged since the Connecticut shooting. At the Kansas City show, Jerome Ratliff bought an AR-15 on Saturday for target practice, paying $925. The same model would have cost only about $400 a year ago, he said. Most models were selling for $1,500 or more.
Bob Hofmeister, a gun dealer with a table at the Kansas city show, said the business sold 15 to 20 AR-15s in the past week. "Some of these people just want to show their rights to own guns," Hofmeister said.
The Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution guarantees the right to bear arms, and most gun enthusiasts at the shows on Saturday said more restrictions on guns would not stop mass killings such as Connecticut.
Adam Ouart of Mansfield, Texas stood in a line with about another dozen people at the Lone Star show in Forth Worth, Texas, in hopes of buying a gun. "The answer is not to limit people having guns. If someone wants to hurt somebody they are going to find a way to do it," Ouart said.
Several dealers and buyers interviewed at the shows supported the NRA proposal to put armed guards in schools.
More than 200 people lined up at each of three entrances on Saturday morning to pay the $8 entrance fee to the Will Rogers Memorial Center in Fort Worth, which has an exhibit hall spanning 25 acres. They crowded the aisles of the show and stood at booths for assault weapons and ammunition clips.
At all three shows the attendees were overwhelmingly white men, with some women and very few ethnic minorities.
Thousands of guns shows are held in the United States every year. Under federal law, licensed dealers must conduct a background check before selling to a buyer at a gun show. But in what critics call a "loophole （4）," unlicensed collectors and other private sales do not require a background check （5）.
A 2009 undercover investigation at seven gun shows by the city of New York found that 63 percent of sellers failed an "integrity" test by selling a weapon to a buyer who admitted he probably could not pass a background check.
While most people interviewed at the shows were not in favor of gun controls, not everyone opposed some regulation.
Bruce Abernathy walked away with an assault rifle after sitting through a 30-minute background check at the Texas show. "There should be more strict background checks," said Abernathy, a Dallas resident. He said there should be a 30-day waiting period to buy weapons and a thorough background check that includes five references. （Reuters）

關鍵字詞
1.outlaw（v.）宣佈...為不合法
2.firearm（n.）槍枝
3.massacre（n.）殘殺
4.loophole（n.）漏洞
5.background check（n.）背景檢查

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