中新网评：美国“打折版”控枪法案拦不住“血腥周末”

中新网北京8月30日电：(蒋鲤)据美国媒体报道，在刚刚过去的一个周末，美国仅纽约市就发生十余起枪击事件，多人中枪身亡。民众反对持枪呼声高涨，但枪支暴力依然愈演愈烈，“血腥周末”频频上演，拜登政府6月底签署控枪法案难阻“子弹上膛”。

6月下旬，美国总统拜登签署了一项枪支管制法案，尽管美国媒体及政客渲染该法案是“几十年来取得的重大突破”，具有“里程碑意义”，总统拜登更表示新法案将帮助“挽救生命”，但实际上，该法案并未如其所愿遏制枪支暴力，也未能回应民众最关切的诉求。

来自美国“枪支暴力档案”网站的统计数据显示，新法生效后一个月的时间里，美国各类涉枪暴力事件仍频繁发生。最新数据显示，美国八月已经报告了超60起大规模枪击案。

其实，结果不难预料。所谓的“控枪法案”在共和党阻挠下内容大幅缩水，未能禁售大容量弹夹的攻击性武器，也没能将购枪年龄由18岁提高到21岁。

这种隔靴搔痒式的立法未能触及根本，无法产生实际效果。相反，它更像是美国政客为了平息民怨而做出的一种敷衍的姿态。而对于拜登而言，这一法案将助力民主党提升中期选举的支持率，枪支管制方面的胜利将作为民主党对其选民的宣传要素。

另一方面，与控枪法案相比，保护持枪的法案反倒在美国层出不穷。6月23日，美联邦最高法院推翻了纽约州限制携枪的法律，限制州和地方政府监管枪支的能力。8月25日，美国得克萨斯州“控枪派”再受挫，一名联邦法官裁定得州禁止18至20岁平民在公共场合携带手枪的法律条文违反宪法，应予废止。

根据日内瓦高等国际关系及发展研究院发布的《全球轻武器调查》研究报告，2017年美国人口为3.26亿，但民间拥有的枪支数量达到3.93亿支，社会枪支严重过剩。

在如此庞大的数字面前，一个不痛不痒的控枪法案未免有些无力。更何况，在枪支暴力的背后，是利益集团与政客的密切联系，是明显的党派对立，更是极端主义、种族主义等社会危机的爆发。

若想解决猖獗的枪支暴力问题，就必须从根源上拔除这一顽疾，凝聚共识，着力消除社会顽疾，而不是“枪口对外”，依旧打着“民主人权”的旗号干涉他国。否则，美国人民只会日复一日深陷枪支暴力的恐惧之中，而枪支暴力则迫使人们购买更多的枪支，由此产生的恶性循环只会让每一个普通人为此付出更大的代价。

'Discounted' gun control bill fails to curb U.S. gun violence
　
(ECNS) -- U.S. media reported that more than 10 people were shot and several died in nearly a dozen gun-related incidents across New York City over the last weekend.

Amid increasing calls for a ban, the frequency of violent incidents has proven the limited effectiveness of the gun control bill signed into law by President Joe Biden in late June.

U.S. media and politicians both bragged the bill is "a breakthrough" while Biden said it would help "save lives," but it has failed to curb gun violence and related concerns.

Data from Gun Violence Archive shows related violence remains frequent a month after the gun control bill came into force. The latest data recorded over 60 mass shootings in August in the U.S.

The result is not unexpected, with the so-called gun control bill neither banning the sale of large-capacity ammunition feeding devices, nor raising the age for buying a semiautomatic rifle to 21 nationwide under Republican pressure.

This bill fails to address the root of gun violence, serving as a mere perfunctory gesture made by American politicians to appease public grievance. As for Biden, the bill could help the Democratic Party win more support from voters during mid-term elections in November.

Compared with the gun control bill, those protecting guns in the country seem easier to pass. For example, on June 23, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the New York handgun law that placed strict restrictions on firearms outside the home, while on Aug. 25, a federal judge ruled that a Texas law banning people aged 18 to 20 from carrying handguns in public is unconstitutional.

U.S. gun owners possess 393.3 million weapons, according to a 2018 report by Small Arms Survey, a Geneva-based organization, which exceeds the country’s population of about 330 million.

The gun trade further indicates the close connection between interest groups and politicians, opposition between parties, and social crises including extremism and racism.

The U.S. must root out the stubborn disease of gun violence from within, or its civilians will only be mired in fear, forcing many to invest in more arms. Such a vicious circle will only make ordinary citizens pay a higher price.