2022年7月14日

分享“上帝保佑，这将拯救很多生命。”6月25日，乔·拜登总统在签署了几十年来最重要的枪支安全立法后如是说。仅仅一周后，他又对另一起毫无意义的大规模枪击事件表示震惊——这次是在伊利诺伊州高地公园举行的7月4日独立日游行。绝望不是这种令人沮丧——而且熟悉得可怕——并置的答案。事实是，尽管最高法院和国会中的极端分子尽了最大努力，但美国在枪支改革方面正在取得真正的进展。如果要停止流血，就必须继续取得这一进展。拜登上个月签署的《两党更安全社区法案》无论以何种标准衡量都是一项重大成就。它包括激励各州通过“红旗”法律，允许法院在人们对自己或他人构成威胁时暂时阻止他们获得枪支，并资助培训官员实施这些法律。法案扩大了对21岁以下潜在枪支购买者的背景调查。它还填补了所谓的“男友漏洞”，该漏洞使某些家庭施暴者不受枪支限制。 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.