校园枪击事件导致企业大范围改变枪支管理措施

School Shooting Leads Companies to Change Gun Positions

The recent shooting attack at a Florida high school has renewed heated debate about gun control in the United States.

America remains¹ divided on the issue. Both sides have mainly held their positions in recent years while the country continued to experience deadly mass shootings.

But the latest school shooting – in which 17 people were killed – has led to some new developments in the gun debate.

Some U.S. companies are changing their policies related to guns, for example. Also, students themselves are rising up in huge numbers to demand stronger gun control measures.

Since the Parkland shooting, at least 15 companies have announced they were ending partnerships² with the National Rifle Association (NRA).

Among those ending cooperation with the NRA are Delta³ Air Lines and United Airlines, car rental⁴ companies Hertz, Enterprise and Alamo, and insurance company MetLife.

Delta Air Lines had been giving the NRA reduced rates for air travel. After its decision, Delta faced criticism from officials in the state of Georgia, where the company is based.

After Delta’s NRA decision, Georgia Lieutenant⁵ Governor Casey Cagle wrote on Twitter he would attempt to “kill any tax legislation” that helped Delta. Cagle, a Republican, said he would only support such a measure if Delta reestablished its relationship with the NRA.

“Corporations cannot attack conservatives and expect us not to fight back,” the tweet said.

On Thursday, Georgia's legislature approved a bill that punished Delta for its decision regarding the NRA. Lawmakers passed a tax bill that removed fuel tax benefits that could have saved the company about $40 million a year.

Officials from several other states have offered to support Delta Air Lines if it moved operations out of Georgia.

In answer to Delta, the NRA said that its members are “passionate⁶ supporters” of the U.S. Constitution’s Second Amendment⁷ about weapons rights of citizens. “Having those on the left pushing for a boycott⁸ to pressure companies to drop discounts just shows how out of touch some are,” the NRA tweeted.

At least three American-based stores announced in recent days they were raising the age to 21 to buy guns in their stores. The NRA is opposed to raising the age to 21. The three companies are Dick’s Sporting Goods, Walmart and Kroger.

In its announcement Wednesday, Dick’s also said it would halt sales of assault-style weapons. The 19-year-old shooter used an assault-style weapon in the February 14 attack at Florida’s Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.

Ed Stack is Dick’s Chief Executive Officer. He spoke⁹ to ABC’s “Good Morning America” about the decision. “When we saw what the kids were going through and the grief of the parents and the kids who were killed in Parkland, we felt we needed to do something,” he said.

Large social media campaigns are also pressuring government officials to consider stronger gun control measures.

One of the most vocal¹⁰ student activists¹¹ for reform of gun laws is Emma Gonzalez. The 18-year-old student survived the attack at Stoneman Douglas. She began to trend on Twitter after she spoke at a protest. The videotaped speech recorded her sharp criticism of politicians – including President Donald Trump¹² – who accept money from the NRA.

Emma Gonzalez had not been a Twitter user, but decided¹³ to join. When she did, her number of followers¹⁴ quickly rose to more than one million. That is nearly twice the number of Twitter followers of the NRA.

I’m Bryan Lynn.

And I’m Caty Weaver¹⁵.

Words in This Story

National Rifle Association – n. a national organization founded in 1871 that promotes the legal use of guns and gun safety in the US and defends a US citizen's constitutional right to own and bear arms.

rental – n. the act of renting something

insurance – n. an agreement in which a person makes payments to a company and the company promises to pay money if the person is injured or dies

passionate – adj. showing a strong belief in something or a strong feeling about a subject

the left – n. a group or party favoring liberal views

retailer¹⁶ – n. a business that sells things directly to customers

assault – n. a violent attack

grief – n. great sadness, especially caused by someone's death

vocal – adj. expressing opinions in a public and forceful way

1 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

2 partnerships   

n.伙伴关系( partnership的名词复数 )；合伙人身份；合作关系

参考例句：

• Partnerships suffer another major disadvantage: decision-making is shared. 合伙企业的另一主要缺点是决定要由大家来作。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件
• It involved selling off limited partnerships. 它涉及到售出有限的合伙权。 来自辞典例句

3 delta   

n.（流的）角洲

参考例句：

• He has been to the delta of the Nile.他曾去过尼罗河三角洲。
• The Nile divides at its mouth and forms a delta.尼罗河在河口分岔，形成了一个三角洲。

4 rental   

n.租赁，出租，出租业

参考例句：

• The yearly rental of her house is 2400 yuan.她这房子年租金是2400元。
• We can organise car rental from Chicago O'Hare Airport.我们可以安排提供从芝加哥奥黑尔机场出发的租车服务。

5 lieutenant   

n.陆军中尉，海军上尉；代理官员，副职官员

参考例句：

• He was promoted to be a lieutenant in the army.他被提升为陆军中尉。
• He prevailed on the lieutenant to send in a short note.他说动那个副官，递上了一张简短的便条进去。

6 passionate   

adj.热情的，热烈的，激昂的，易动情的，易怒的，性情暴躁的

参考例句：

• He is said to be the most passionate man.据说他是最有激情的人。
• He is very passionate about the project.他对那个项目非常热心。

7 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。

8 boycott   

n./v.(联合)抵制，拒绝参与

参考例句：

• We put the production under a boycott.我们联合抵制该商品。
• The boycott lasts a year until the Victoria board permitsreturn.这个抗争持续了一年直到维多利亚教育局妥协为止。

9 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

10 vocal   

adj.直言不讳的；嗓音的；n.[pl.]声乐节目

参考例句：

• The tongue is a vocal organ.舌头是一个发音器官。
• Public opinion at last became vocal.终于舆论哗然。

11 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

13 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

14 followers   

追随者( follower的名词复数 )； 用户； 契据的附面； 从动件

参考例句：

• the followers of Mahatma Gandhi 圣雄甘地的拥护者
• The reformer soon gathered a band of followers round him. 改革者很快就获得一群追随者支持他。

15 weaver   

n.织布工；编织者

参考例句：

• She was a fast weaver and the cloth was very good.她织布织得很快，而且布的质量很好。
• The eager weaver did not notice my confusion.热心的纺织工人没有注意到我的狼狈相。

16 retailer   

n.零售商(人)

参考例句：

• What are the retailer requirements?零售商会有哪些要求呢？
• The retailer has assembled a team in Shanghai to examine the question.这家零售商在上海组建了一支团队研究这个问题。