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(单词翻译:双击或拖选)
Many gun owners support gun control. So why don't they speak out?
About 1 in 3 adults in the U.S. owns a firearm. And many of them feel misunderstood by the millions of Americans who don't. Researchers say this disconnect makes it difficult to unify2 around shared support for gun control and gun violence prevention.
For instance, going back to 2018, polls show a majority of gun owners support raising the legal gun ownership age from 18 to 21. Most also support red flag laws, which would allow police to take guns from people deemed dangerous by courts. A poll conducted after the mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas, shows an overwhelming majority of Americans agree.
But many gun owners are hesitant to speak out publicly about their support for stronger gun control policies, in part because they feel out of step with gun control advocates whom they view as wanting to take away all guns. "They feel they're being blamed," explains Michael Siegel of Tufts University, who co-authored a study published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine based on a survey of about 2,000 gun owners.
The study found that about 70% of gun owners reported their reluctance3 to engage in gun violence prevention was, in part, due to feelings of alienation4 or being seen as part of the problem for owning a firearm. "They perceive gun control advocates as blaming them for the gun violence problem, not understanding gun ownership, and not understanding much about guns," the paper concludes.
Gun owners who support more limits on guns feel stuck in the middle. On the one hand, they feel misunderstood by stricter gun control advocates, but many are also out of step with the gun lobby, including the National Rifle Association, which pushes back against stricter controls.
Poll: Support for controlling gun violence hits its highest point in a decade
UVALDE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL SHOOTING
"We have this image of gun owners, as, you know, walking around the streets carrying assault weapons and opposing gun laws," Siegel says, but this represents a small minority, even within the organized gun lobby.
Fewer than 20% of gun owners are members of the NRA, and Siegel's study found just 10% of gun owners say guns are an important part of their identity.
Common-sense measures
Long-time NRA member Richard Small lives on a ranch5 in Charlotte, Texas, where he says he and his grandson shoot at steel targets for fun. He says he was horrified6 and shaken by the shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, which killed 19 students and two teachers. He supports the passage of what he calls common-sense measures, including more licensing7 requirements for gun owners, strengthening background checks and red flag laws. In the wake of the Uvalde tragedy, he has a proposition for fellow gun owners: "Come across and meet me halfway8."
He'd like to see a movement. "I'm hoping that gun owners, sensible people, are going to rise up and say, 'You know what, enough is enough.'" Small says there's an urgency "to slow down the epidemic9 of massacres10."
Small says he no longer identifies with what he says is propaganda put forward by the NRA and members of the group whom he views as having extreme positions. "They've almost become so defensive11 and paranoid that the government wants to seize their weapons," which he believes to be rhetoric12 intended to scare gun owners. "They're walking around with these ARs, you know, flamboyantly13, downtown protesting," Small says. "This has gotten out of hand, you know, it's so crazy."
The loudest voices get the most attention, Small says. And in the wake of Uvalde, he has become more vocal14 about his support for stricter gun control. He made headlines when he handed over an assault-style rifle he owns to local police just after the school shooting, realizing he didn't want to own such a lethal15 weapon, and he didn't want it to end up in the wrong hands, which he says could happen if he sold it at a gun show.
He thought he'd be criticized by some in his community, since so many shoot and hunt for fun, but that hasn't happened. "I'm like, wow," Small says. When his wife posted on social media about his media appearances, the hundreds of responses were overwhelmingly positive. "It hasn't been the hate mail that I thought I was going to get," he says.
Small likes to have one-on-one conversations with fellow gun owners, and he's come to believe that perhaps people with moderate views, like him, could represent a silent majority.
"It's so obvious that we need to do something," says Small's neighbor and friend, Gerardo Marquez. They live on neighboring ranches16, and both are retired17 school administrators18. Marquez was a high school principal for many years and says he's sickened by the shootings carried out by 18-year-olds. "When are we going to wake up?" he asks.
Marquez collects guns and hunts doves and turkeys for fun, yet he's open to a buy-back program to offload an assault-style weapon he owns, and, like Small, he supports a range of measures to prevent gun violence.
Siegel says his research suggests a majority of gun owners share these views. "They support basic laws that aim to keep guns out of the hands of people who are high-risk for violence."
Part of the solution
Siegel says gun owners really need to be part of the solution. And to do that, he says Americans who don't own guns need to respect the fact that gun owners have a legitimate19 reason, and right, to own firearms. "We don't have to agree with it, but we have to respect it," Siegel says.
Showing gun owners that their point of view is respected, may help elevate — or draw out — the voices of those who support gun control, just like Small and Marquez. "I think that when gun owners are willing to come out and express their support for these laws, that's when things will really start to change," Siegel says.
A poll from Ipsos, conducted just after the Uvalde shooting, finds two-thirds of Americans believe there should be at least moderate regulations or restrictions20 on gun ownership. And though there's certainly a partisan21 difference, 53% of Republicans agree with moderate to strong regulations.
"We found that even among Republicans, we saw a majority, 78% said that they would be more likely to support a candidate who supports passing background checks and red flag laws for all new gun purchases," says Chris Jackson of Ipsos.
He says what this suggests is that "it's not really a political loser for Republicans to be like, I support people's right to own a firearm, but it should be limited, it should be responsible."
Researchers say if polls continue to show that most Americans, including many gun owners, support new control measures, it would be harder for politicians to say they're representing the interests of their people by voting against them.
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| n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书 | |
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unify
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| vt.使联合，统一；使相同，使一致 | |
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reluctance
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| n.厌恶，讨厌，勉强，不情愿 | |
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alienation
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| n.疏远；离间；异化 | |
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ranch
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| n.大牧场，大农场 | |
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horrified
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| a.(表现出)恐惧的 | |
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licensing
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| v.批准，许可，颁发执照( license的现在分词 ) | |
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halfway
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| adj.中途的，不彻底的，部分的；adv.半路地，在中途，在半途 | |
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epidemic
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| n.流行病；盛行；adj.流行性的，流传极广的 | |
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massacres
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| 大屠杀( massacre的名词复数 )； 惨败 | |
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defensive
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| adj.防御的；防卫的；防守的 | |
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rhetoric
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| n.修辞学，浮夸之言语 | |
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flamboyantly
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| adv.艳丽地、奢华地、绚丽地。 | |
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vocal
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| adj.直言不讳的；嗓音的；n.[pl.]声乐节目 | |
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lethal
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| adj.致死的；毁灭性的 | |
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ranches
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| 大农场， （兼种果树，养鸡等的）大牧场( ranch的名词复数 ) | |
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retired
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| adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的 | |
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administrators
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| n.管理者( administrator的名词复数 )；有管理（或行政）才能的人；（由遗嘱检验法庭指定的）遗产管理人；奉派暂管主教教区的牧师 | |
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legitimate
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| adj.合法的，合理的，合乎逻辑的；v.使合法 | |
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restrictions
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| 约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则） | |
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partisan
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| adj.党派性的；游击队的；n.游击队员；党徒 | |
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