美国国家公共电台 NPR--Texas lawmakers have removed gun restrictions in recent years

Texas lawmakers have removed gun restrictions¹ in recent years

Transcript²

NPR's Steve Inskeep talks to Travis Clardy, a Republican state lawmaker in Texas, about this week's school shooting in Uvalde, and the state's gun laws.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

How much can lawmakers do about gun violence in this country? Congress is talking, though it's not clear what they may do. State legislatures may well be able to act. Texas lawmakers in recent years have loosened many gun restrictions in the name of protecting the Second Amendment³ right to bear arms. One Texas Republican lawmaker watching the tragedy in Uvalde, Texas, is Representative Travis Clardy, who joins us from Nacogdoches, Texas. Representative Clardy, welcome back, sir.

TRAVIS CLARDY: Good morning, Steve.

INSKEEP: Do you feel it is necessary for your Legislature to act?

CLARDY: Yes, I think it's necessary for a lot of actions to be taken on this. You know...

INSKEEP: Such as?

CLARDY: Well, you know, the story broke this week - I was in trial in Beaumont. We're coming back to the hotel. And it's a gut⁴ punch, and I'm tired of receiving it. You walk in, a good mood, ready to get ready for the next day, and here goes the scroll⁵ about the story. We've seen it too long, and we keep doing the same things. The definition of insanity⁶ is doing the same things, expecting different results. And we do need to act. But this is a multifaceted problem, and it's going to take results. You know, I don't have absolute confidence and - certainly not at the federal level, but even on the state level. The legislative⁷, you solve problems that are, fundamentally, to me, problems of the heart. But there are things we can do. And we have done some things that are important in the last couple of sessions in Texas dealing⁸ with these issues. But we've got to quit retreating back to the red, blue - the red camp, the blue camp and the siege walls go up. And...

INSKEEP: Well, if I might, let's dig into this a little bit since time is short.

CLARDY: OK.

INSKEEP: Let's address the Constitution. There are differing opinions on what it means, the Second Amendment means. But there's a Supreme⁹ Court ruling on this by Antonin Scalia, conservative justice in 2010. It says individuals have a right to bear arms, but also says the government can regulate guns so long as they're doing it in a not arbitrary and capricious manner. Do you agree the Constitution does allow reasonable gun regulations?

CLARDY: The reasonableness is in the eye of the beholder¹⁰. I mean, I'm an absolute supporter of the Second Amendment. This isn't some amendment that's derived¹¹ from some unspoken penumbra¹² within the constitutional interpretation¹³ of the court. It is there - we call it No. 2, the Second Amendment. That said, we do need to look at some reasonable restrictions. But the problem we have, Steve, is every time this happens, as predictable as its happened, unfortunately, over and over again, is the reaction that the answer is gun control. And I absolutely do not believe that gun control solves any problems. And this is talked in the practical, real world. Stopping sales or putting a ban on this sort of gun or weapon or magazine or confiscation¹⁴ or registration¹⁵ is an absolute nonstarter. But more than that, it won't work. The number of guns and ownership in private hands is an astounding¹⁶, astounding figure. We have a porous¹⁷ Southern border, have had since the entirety of the war on drugs. Men, material, drugs and guns can flow into this country in any number of ways. So I don't think that's going to solve the problem.

INSKEEP: Well, I think you raise an interesting point. There's more than 400 million guns in this country. So it is hard to imagine how you would absolutely...

CLARDY: Right.

INSKEEP: ...Keep the guns out of the hands of the wrong person at the wrong time. But it is possible to come up with things. Cory Turner, our education reporter, has been talking with school safety researchers. And I'm just telling you what the researchers have found after looking at mass shootings. Many of them support tightening¹⁸ age limits for gun ownership, raising it from 18 to 21. And they point out - they say the teenage brain is too impulsive¹⁹. And they point out the gunmen in Uvalde and Parkland and Santa Fe and Newtown and Columbine were all under 21. What do you think about that proposal?

CLARDY: I think we need to be unafraid of taking these issues and having the discussion. Look - I'm not - that does not offend my sensibilities. I also can go back and look at what's happened in Buffalo²⁰. I can go back to the man that drove his car through a parade and killed a bunch of people. There's been - there have been plenty of people who have acted with bad intent, whether - you know, mental health is certainly component²¹ of this. But...

INSKEEP: But what about the 18-to-21 proposal? Is that something that sounds like it could be constitutional and practical to you, raising the age limit?

CLARDY: I think that it's something that we should look at. But we also say it's fine to put weapons in the hands of an 18-year-old young man and young woman in the service of this country.

INSKEEP: True, but they're trained.

CLARDY: We say you're old enough to vote, but you're not old enough to have your constitutional right. And I agree. But, you know, so was Lee Harvey Oswald, Steve. He was well trained. So that's not a panacea²². I'm not saying no, that's not on the table...

INSKEEP: Oh, sure, no one thing is going to solve this.

CLARDY: ...No one can talk about it.

INSKEEP: I would agree with you there. But go on.

CLARDY: I was just meeting in Nacogdoches at a legislative summit with the Texas School Safety Commission down in San Marcos. And at that time - this has been several years ago - we were talking about hardening the schools' defenses. I hate to approach the academic environment as we have to deal with it as designing a prison unit with those sort of security measures. We expanded the use of school marshals. We've looked at ways that we can better equip schools to defend themselves. I don't like that reality, but that's the world that we live in. But how do we address the underlying²³ issue? And I do - as we've said, I think this is a matter of the heart. I do believe that we live in a fallen world. I do believe that there is evil. But there are also people that are troubled, that have mental health issues that need to be addressed. All this...

INSKEEP: Well, let's talk about that, if I can, in the moment we have left.

CLARDY: Yeah, yeah.

INSKEEP: I'm so sorry to cut you off. Researcher Mark Follman is on the program this morning. He's tracked many mass shootings. He finds a lot of people who maybe you wouldn't strictly²⁴ diagnose as mentally ill, but they're troubled in some way, there are warning signs, and you can intervene. Is the state of Texas prepared to intervene more aggressively, which might mean getting in people's faces and denying them weapons in certain cases?

CLARDY: Great question. And yes, we have been doing this. We have looked into - there's this - also this equal fear of Big Brother and the statism and the monitoring of social media and algorithms that're watching activity. You know, you remember the movie "Minority Report."

INSKEEP: Sure.

CLARDY: We don't have Precogs. But it was a cautionary tale for when we live in the world of Big Brother and the - you know, the idea of 1984 being not around the corner but here and now. And so there's these issues of intrusion into private lives of citizens that are law abiding²⁵ and want to do the right thing. But, Steve, we cannot - we've got to come up and get out of the box. I'm not interested in walking Pavlov's dog every time this happens and start hearing about gun control, gun restrictions, gun legislation. That, I believe, is not the solution.

INSKEEP: If you say it's a matter of the heart, I feel you are telling me, ultimately, this isn't something that you would legislate²⁶ about at all.

CLARDY: I think we can legislate certain things. But, you know, fundamentally - I'll take this back, and you can point a lot of things a lot of ways. There's been a breakdown²⁷ of the family laws, of laws of - you know, we seem to have more troubled children now than we have ever before. Troubled kids become troubled adults, and then we have bad results and wonder what happened. And, you know, you can't - there are things that we cannot legislate. I wish that we could. But we - there are things we can do. But doing nothing and throwing the same old cliches across the siege walls of the red castle and the blue castle will get us nowhere. I am sick and tired of this cohort (ph).

INSKEEP: Representative Travis Clardy, it is always a pleasure talking with you. Thank you for joining us so early in East Texas. And good to hear from you.

CLARDY: All right. Thank you, Steve.

1 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

2 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。

3 amendment   

n.改正，修正，改善，修正案

参考例句：

• The amendment was rejected by 207 voters to 143.这项修正案以207票对143票被否决。
• The Opposition has tabled an amendment to the bill.反对党已经就该议案提交了一项修正条款。

4 gut   

n.[pl.]胆量；内脏；adj.本能的；vt.取出内脏

参考例句：

• It is not always necessary to gut the fish prior to freezing.冷冻鱼之前并不总是需要先把内脏掏空。
• My immediate gut feeling was to refuse.我本能的直接反应是拒绝。

5 scroll   

n.卷轴，纸卷；(石刻上的)漩涡

参考例句：

• As I opened the scroll,a panorama of the Yellow River unfolded.我打开卷轴时，黄河的景象展现在眼前。
• He was presented with a scroll commemorating his achievements.他被授予一幅卷轴，以表彰其所做出的成就。

6 insanity   

n.疯狂，精神错乱；极端的愚蠢，荒唐

参考例句：

• In his defense he alleged temporary insanity.他伪称一时精神错乱，为自己辩解。
• He remained in his cell,and this visit only increased the belief in his insanity.他依旧还是住在他的地牢里，这次视察只是更加使人相信他是个疯子了。

7 legislative   

n.立法机构，立法权；adj.立法的，有立法权的

参考例句：

• Congress is the legislative branch of the U.S. government.国会是美国政府的立法部门。
• Today's hearing was just the first step in the legislative process.今天的听证会只是展开立法程序的第一步。

8 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

9 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

10 beholder   

n.观看者，旁观者

参考例句：

• Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. 看起来觉得美就是美。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• It has been said that art is a tryst, for in the joy of it maker and beholder meet. 有人说艺术是一种幽会，因为艺术家和欣赏者可在幽会的乐趣中相遇在一起。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 derived   

vi.起源；由来；衍生；导出v.得到( derive的过去式和过去分词 )；（从…中）得到获得；源于；（从…中）提取

参考例句：

• Many English words are derived from Latin and Greek. 英语很多词源出于拉丁文和希腊文。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He derived his enthusiasm for literature from his father. 他对文学的爱好是受他父亲的影响。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 penumbra   

n.（日蚀）半影部

参考例句：

• This includes the continuous survey of umbra and penumbra of the sunspot.这包括对太阳黑子本影和半影持续的观测。
• A penumbra of doubt surrounds the incident.疑惑的阴影笼罩着该事件。

13 interpretation   

n.解释，说明，描述；艺术处理

参考例句：

• His statement admits of one interpretation only.他的话只有一种解释。
• Analysis and interpretation is a very personal thing.分析与说明是个很主观的事情。

14 confiscation   

n. 没收, 充公, 征收

参考例句：

• Confiscation of the property of all emigrants and rebels. 没收一切流亡分子和叛乱分子的财产。 来自英汉非文学 - 共产党宣言
• Confiscation of smuggled property is part of the penalty for certain offences. 没收走私财产是对某些犯罪予以惩罚的一部分。

15 registration   

n.登记，注册，挂号

参考例句：

• Marriage without registration is not recognized by law.法律不承认未登记的婚姻。
• What's your registration number?你挂的是几号？

16 astounding   

adj.使人震惊的vt.使震惊，使大吃一惊astound的现在分词)

参考例句：

• There was an astounding 20% increase in sales. 销售量惊人地增加了20%。
• The Chairman's remarks were so astounding that the audience listened to him with bated breath. 主席说的话令人吃惊，所以听众都屏息听他说。 来自《简明英汉词典》

17 porous   

adj.可渗透的，多孔的

参考例句：

• He added sand to the soil to make it more porous.他往土里掺沙子以提高渗水性能。
• The shell has to be slightly porous to enable oxygen to pass in.外壳不得不有些细小的孔以便能使氧气通过。

18 tightening   

上紧，固定，紧密

参考例句：

• Make sure the washer is firmly seated before tightening the pipe. 旋紧水管之前，检查一下洗衣机是否已牢牢地固定在底座上了。
• It needs tightening up a little. 它还需要再收紧些。

19 impulsive   

adj.冲动的，刺激的；有推动力的

参考例句：

• She is impulsive in her actions.她的行为常出于冲动。
• He was neither an impulsive nor an emotional man,but a very honest and sincere one.他不是个一冲动就鲁莽行事的人，也不多愁善感.他为人十分正直、诚恳。

20 buffalo   

n.(北美)野牛；(亚洲)水牛

参考例句：

• Asian buffalo isn't as wild as that of America's. 亚洲水牛比美洲水牛温顺些。
• The boots are made of buffalo hide. 这双靴子是由水牛皮制成的。

21 component   

n.组成部分，成分，元件；adj.组成的，合成的

参考例句：

• Each component is carefully checked before assembly.每个零件在装配前都经过仔细检查。
• Blade and handle are the component parts of a knife.刀身和刀柄是一把刀的组成部分。

22 panacea   

n.万灵药；治百病的灵药

参考例句：

• Western aid may help but will not be a panacea. 西方援助可能会有所帮助，但并非灵丹妙药。
• There's no single panacea for the country's economic ills. 国家经济弊病百出,并无万灵药可以医治。

23 underlying   

adj.在下面的，含蓄的，潜在的

参考例句：

• The underlying theme of the novel is very serious.小说隐含的主题是十分严肃的。
• This word has its underlying meaning.这个单词有它潜在的含义。

24 strictly   

adv.严厉地，严格地；严密地

参考例句：

• His doctor is dieting him strictly.他的医生严格规定他的饮食。
• The guests were seated strictly in order of precedence.客人严格按照地位高低就座。

25 abiding   

adj.永久的，持久的，不变的

参考例句：

• He had an abiding love of the English countryside.他永远热爱英国的乡村。
• He has a genuine and abiding love of the craft.他对这门手艺有着真挚持久的热爱。

26 legislate   

vt.制定法律；n.法规，律例；立法

参考例句：

• Therefore,it is very urgent to legislate for the right of privacy.因此，为隐私权立法刻不容缓。
• It's impossible to legislate for every contingency.为每一偶发事件都立法是不可能的。

27 breakdown   

n.垮，衰竭；损坏，故障，倒塌

参考例句：

• She suffered a nervous breakdown.她患神经衰弱。
• The plane had a breakdown in the air,but it was fortunately removed by the ace pilot.飞机在空中发生了故障，但幸运的是被王牌驾驶员排除了。