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AFTER the worst mass shooting in recent American history, in which 58 people were killed and 489 wounded, both the president and the majority leaders in Congress sought to keep talk about new gun laws to a minimum. In Vegas that kind of reticence is called a tell. Had Stephen Paddock used a new technology—an armed drone, say—to kill from the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay hotel, or had he been an immigrant from the Middle East, lawmakers would be rushing to legislate or tighten borders. But he was a retired white man who used some of the 49 guns he owned, so it is the price of freedom.
在新近美国历史上最严重的大规模枪击事件中共有58人遇难，489人受伤。此后，总统和国会多数党领袖们都试图将有关新枪支法律的讨论控制在最低的限度。在拉斯维加斯，这种沉默被称为“讲述”。假如史蒂芬·帕多克使用了新技术（比如说武装无人机）从曼德勒湾酒店的第32层执行了他的射杀行为，或者假如他是一位来自中东的移民，那么议员们定会急着立法或者收紧边境的控制。但是他是一位退休的白人。事件中他使用了自己拥有的49支武器中的一部分。可以说这是自由的代价。
There is a weariness to America’s gun debate and the familiar ritual after mass shootings, which are more frequent than in any other rich country. One study counted 166 of them in 14 countries in 2000-14; 133 were in America. Yet, nothing happens, partly because the National Rifle Association (NRA), which has evolved from an armed version of the Boy Scout movement into the foremost mouthpiece for a view of America in which everyone must be armed for their own protection, has a veto in Washington—including over banning “bump stocks” which make semi-automatic guns more lethal.
大规模枪击事件后，照例是令人厌倦的美国涉枪辩论以及熟悉的仪式。发生在美国的这类事情比发生在其他富裕国家的频率都要高。一项研究统计了2000-2014年间发生在14个国家中的类似事件共计166起，其中133起发生在美国。然而, 事件之后没有什么变化，美国全国步枪协会是其中的原因之一。这个组织已经从武装版的童子军运动演变成了每个美国人都必须拥有武器保护自己的最重要代言人。该协会在华盛顿拥有否决权，包括否决了对“蓄能器”的销售禁令。这种装置使得半自动枪支更加致命。
If America could not overhaul its gun laws after Sandy Hook, when 20 children aged six and seven were shot at school, then what chance is there now? And even if tighter laws on new guns were introduced tomorrow, there would still be a stock of 300m firearms to reckon with.
如果美国在桑迪·胡克小学枪击事件后（当时有20名六七岁的孩子在学校被枪杀）没能修改枪支法律，那么现在又有多少机会呢? 即使明天出台了更为严格的新枪支法律，民间仍有3亿支武器需要面对。
Such despair is unworthy of this week’s victims. There are plenty of down-is-up arguments about guns, but the Las Vegas shooting, in addition to being the most deadly, has shown up the old NRA line that the only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun as the most deceitful of the lot.
这种绝望对不住本周的那些受害者。枪支问题引发了大量脚踏实地才能进步的相关争论，但拉斯维加斯枪击事件除了死伤人数最多之外，还暴露出全国步枪协会关于持枪守法公民是阻止持枪暴徒的唯一途径是最具欺骗性的说法。
Granted, America has chosen permissive gun laws for itself. But the body count does not have to be as high as it is today. Research into murder and suicide suggests that making it just slightly harder to get hold of a weapon can reduce the number of killings, many of which are spontaneous and unplanned.
诚然，美国自己选择了宽松的枪支法律。但即便如此，死亡人数也并非必然会像如今这样高。对谋杀和自杀的研究表明，让持有武器变得稍微困难一些都可以减少杀戮的数量。杀戮事件中有许多是自发或临时起意的。
It ought to be possible to write laws that respect the right to bear arms while banning weapons and modifications that make it astonishingly easy to kill a lot of people quickly. Most Americans favour such laws and would like universal background checks on gun purchases, too (though support for gun control is less fervent than for gun rights). Such a regime would still leave America with an unusually high number of murders,suicides and fatal accidents involving guns, but the disparity with other countries would be less glaring.
还是有可能在制定尊重持枪权法律的同时禁止可以在短时间内造成大量伤亡的武器或对其的改造。大多数美国人会欢迎这样的法律，也会支持对枪支购买的普遍背景调查(尽管对枪支管制的支持不会像维护持枪权那般狂热)。这样的管理体制仍然会让美国的谋杀、自杀和涉枪致命事件的数量维持在不寻常的高水平，但与其他国家的差距将不会那么明显。
Tired of waiting for Congress, some cities have introduced their own laws. In upstate New York, where plenty of people hunt, gun laws are permissive. In New York City those laws do not apply. Anyone who wants to carry a gun down Fifth Avenue must first obtain the permission of the NYPD. New York state tightened its laws after Sandy Hook, in effect banning assault weapons. Four other states did the same, though a further 16 responded by making guns easier to buy or carry.
由于不愿再等待国会的作为，一些城市出台了自己的法律。在纽约州北部，由于那里有很多人喜欢打猎，所以枪支法律相当宽容的。但在纽约市，这些法律则并不适用。任何想要在第五大道上携带枪支的人，必须首先获得纽约警察局的许可。纽约州在桑迪胡克事件后收紧了法律，并事实上禁止了攻击性的武器。尽管另有16个州的回应是让枪支更容易获得或携带，但还是有四个州采取了类似纽约州的做法。
Las Vegas, which sits in a state with some of the loosest rules in the country, should rewrite its own gun laws, too. Real conservatives, who champion local fixes for local problems,ought to cheer that. Of course it would not completely solve the problem. Cities like Chicago, near states with permissive laws, would still be flooded with guns. But in a country with 30,000 gun deaths a year, even small improvements would save a lot of lives. A rough calculation suggests that in the time between the Las Vegas shooting and the publication of this article,a further 320 Americans lost their life to a bullet.
拉斯维加斯是美国管理最宽松的州。它应该重新制定自己的枪支法律。支持地方问题地方解决的真正保守派应该为此欢呼。当然，这并不能完全解决问题。法律比较宽松的那些州附近的城市（比如芝加哥）仍然会有大量枪支泛滥。但在每年有三万人死于枪支问题的国家，即使看似微不足道的改善也能挽救许多人的生命。只要粗略计算一下你就会知道，在拉斯维加斯枪击事件和这篇文章发表之间，又有320名美国人饮弹身亡。
