美国国家公共电台 NPR--Why are Americans getting shot after mixing up addresses or cars?

Why are Americans getting shot after mixing up addresses or cars?

Transcript¹

NPR's A Martinez talks to gun violence expert Allison Anderman about three shootings tied to mistakes: going to the wrong door, driveway and car. Are these as unusual events, and how is this tracked?

A MART?NEZ, HOST:

Three shootings happened within the past week because of what appear to be simple mistakes. In upstate New York, a 20-year-old woman was shot and killed after the car she was in pulled into the wrong driveway. In Missouri, a 16-year-old boy was shot when he rang the wrong doorbell. And in Texas, two high school cheerleaders were shot after one of them accidentally got into the wrong car. So all this made us wonder, in a country where there are more guns than people, how often do these types of shootings happen? For more on this, I'm joined by Allison Anderman. She's senior counsel and director of local policy at Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence. Allison, is there any data at all that tells us how often people are shot for simple mistakes like the ones I just mentioned?

ALLISON ANDERMAN: There is no national repository for this sort of information. But we do know from media reports and survey data, as well as statements from law enforcement, that these types of rage-induced shootings are increasing. They're still rare, like mass shootings between strangers, but they are on the rise as well.

MART?NEZ: And see, that surprises me because, I mean, we catalog absolutely everything. We're a statistics-driven culture. So I'm surprised that this information doesn't exist. Why not?

ANDERMAN: Well, these incidents involving guns and shootings are captured at the local level by local law enforcement and in jurisdictions² around the country. And there's just - there's no uniform system for cataloging this data, but also no place to put it.

MART?NEZ: Does anybody think that there should be a place to put it or at least some kind of standard way to collect this kind of information?

ANDERMAN: I think it's a very big challenge in terms of getting everyone at the local level in the country on the same page. The CDC does collect data on firearm homicides and publishes that information two years after the calendar year.

MART?NEZ: So let's talk about, then, policies or laws that may be affecting the likelihood of these types of shootings. The castle doctrine³ and stand your ground laws, that kind of stuff comes to mind.

ANDERMAN: Yes. So the so-called stand your ground laws are dramatic expansions of centuries worth of self-defense principles. So it's always been the law - I mean, going back hundreds of years to the English common law - that a person has a right to defend themselves with lethal⁴ force in their home without having to retreat from their home. But what stand your ground laws have done is take this into the public sphere and tell anyone and everyone that if they feel the slightest provocation⁵, they can use lethal force without retreating, even if they can do so safely without harm to anyone.

MART?NEZ: Does race play a role in stand your ground cases, according to the data?

ANDERMAN: Yes. Unfortunately, stand your ground laws promote racist⁶ violence. There have been studies showing that when a white person kills a Black person, it is 281% more likely that the killing⁷ will be found justified⁸ than when a white person kills another white person.

MART?NEZ: Is there anything at all that you see in research that may explain why people are feeling provoked or maybe even justified to shoot?

ANDERMAN: Well, I think it is the confluence⁹ of a lot of factors. Over the last few years, we've had increased gun buying as a result of the pandemic and protests for racial justice. So we have more people than ever carrying guns. We have a steady weakening of gun laws in a majority of states in this country - as I mentioned, the erosion of self-defense laws, and also the gun industry selling a narrative¹⁰ of fear and this notion that everyone must be armed everywhere and at all times to defend themselves. And the result is people using guns offensively, not defensively, and at a hair's provocation.

MART?NEZ: And I'm thinking of the phrase shoot first, ask questions later. That phrase has been around in America for as long as anyone can remember. Allison Anderman of the Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence. Allison, thanks.

ANDERMAN: Thank you.

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 jurisdictions   

司法权( jurisdiction的名词复数 )； 裁判权； 管辖区域； 管辖范围

参考例句：

• Butler entreated him to remember the act abolishing the heritable jurisdictions. 巴特勒提醒他注意废除世袭审判权的国会法令。
• James I personally adjudicated between the two jurisdictions. 詹姆士一世亲自裁定双方纠纷。

3 doctrine   

n.教义；主义；学说

参考例句：

• He was impelled to proclaim his doctrine.他不得不宣扬他的教义。
• The council met to consider changes to doctrine.宗教议会开会考虑更改教义。

4 lethal   

adj.致死的；毁灭性的

参考例句：

• A hammer can be a lethal weapon.铁锤可以是致命的武器。
• She took a lethal amount of poison and died.她服了致命剂量的毒药死了。

5 provocation   

n.激怒，刺激，挑拨，挑衅的事物，激怒的原因

参考例句：

• He's got a fiery temper and flares up at the slightest provocation.他是火爆性子，一点就着。
• They did not react to this provocation.他们对这一挑衅未作反应。

6 racist   

n.种族主义者，种族主义分子

参考例句：

• a series of racist attacks 一连串的种族袭击行为
• His speech presented racist ideas under the guise of nationalism. 他的讲话以民族主义为幌子宣扬种族主义思想。

7 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

8 justified   

a.正当的，有理的

参考例句：

• She felt fully justified in asking for her money back. 她认为有充分的理由要求退款。
• The prisoner has certainly justified his claims by his actions. 那个囚犯确实已用自己的行动表明他的要求是正当的。

9 confluence   

n.汇合，聚集

参考例句：

• They built the city at the confluence of two rivers.他们建造了城市的汇合两条河流。
• The whole DV movements actually was a confluence of several trends.整个当时的DV运动，实际上是几股潮流的同谋。

10 narrative   

n.叙述，故事；adj.叙事的，故事体的

参考例句：

• He was a writer of great narrative power.他是一位颇有记述能力的作家。
• Neither author was very strong on narrative.两个作者都不是很善于讲故事。