2022年7月14日

分享“上帝愿意,它会挽救很多生命。“所以说总统拜登(Joe Biden) 6月25日签约后几十年来最重要的枪支安全立法。几乎一个星期后,他在另一个毫无意义的枪击事件表示震惊,这一次在高地公园的国庆游行,伊利诺斯州。绝望不是这个问题的答案令人沮丧的-和冷酷地熟悉并置。事实是,美国是枪改革取得实质性的进步,尽管尽了最大努力在国会最高法院和极端分子。这一进程必须继续是否停止流血。两党更安全的社区行动,拜登上月签署的,以任何标准衡量是一个重大成就。它包括激励各州通过“红旗”法律,允许法院暂时阻止人们访问枪对自己或他人造成威胁时,资金培训应用这些法律官员。它扩展背景检查潜在的枪21岁以下的买家。它关闭所谓的男朋友漏洞,免除某些国内滥用枪支的限制。 Not only did 15 Senate Republicans (and 14 of their counterparts in the House) join Democrats in passing the bill, they took barely one month to do so — a strikingly swift response by federal standards. Advertisement Elsewhere, there’s mounting evidence that Americans are fighting back against gun violence. After a 2018 shooting that left 17 high-schoolers dead, Florida’s conservative legislature passed a red-flag law, raised the age to 21 for the purchase of semiautomatic rifles, and banned the use of so-called bump stocks. After the Supreme Court foolishly overturned a century-old New York law limiting the issuance of concealed-carry permits, the state quickly passed laws requiring 16 hours of in-person training before such permits are granted, declaring specific venues no-carry areas, and expanding background checks to purchases of ammunition as well as firearms. It also raised the age limit for semiautomatics, following a mass shooting in Buffalo in May. Gun manufacturers, too, are under growing pressure. Earlier this year, the parents of victims of the 2012 Sandy Hook massacre won a $73 million settlement from Remington Arms Co., after suing the gunmaker for wrongful marketing practices. Similar suits are expected in response to the Buffalo massacre and one in Uvalde, Texas. Several states are attempting to make such lawsuits easier, especially against manufacturers that are marketing weapons to children. As for the federal government, more legislation is unlikely any time soon. But the Senate on Tuesday finally confirmed Steve Dettelbach as the head of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, which had lacked a permanent director for seven years. Dettelbach should bring focus and vision to an agency that has lacked both for some time. Advertisement Now, it’s up to voters and lawmakers to build on these efforts. Looking ahead, two principles are worth keeping in mind. One is that the gun-safety movement will need to take a creative and multi-pronged approach going forward. At a minimum, that should include more proactive lawsuits, renewed efforts to advance commonsense reforms in state legislatures, and the aggressive use of federal regulations. The decades-long struggle to hold tobacco companies accountable offers an instructive model. Second, the movement needs to be realistic about what’s working. As one example, both New York and Illinois have passed red-flag laws. The shooters in Highland Park and Buffalo previously had run-ins with the police. Yet both managed to legally purchase firearms and carry out their killing sprees. It’s crucial that the criteria for disarming such subjects be revisited as needed. States also should use new funding from the bipartisan gun bill to ensure that officials are trained to invoke such laws and the public is widely aware of them. Advertisement It’s hard to be optimistic amid America’s epidemic of gun violence. But it’s essential to build on what progress has been made, and to carry on the fight for as long as it takes. More From Other Writers at Bloomberg Opinion: • • • The Editors are members of the Bloomberg Opinion editorial board. More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com/opinion ©2022 Bloomberg L.P.