美国国家公共电台 NPR--Canada aims to cap the market for handguns with new legislation

Canada aims to cap the market for handguns with new legislation

Transcript¹

Canada's prime minister has introduced gun-control legislation that would freeze new handgun purchases, and introduce a mandatory² buyback program for some assault-style weapons.

A MART?NEZ, HOST:

Nearly a week after the mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas, legislation to freeze the sale of handguns has been introduced in Canada by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

PRIME MINISTER JUSTIN TRUDEAU: It will no longer be possible to buy, sell, transfer or import handguns anywhere in Canada. In other words, we're capping the market for handguns.

(APPLAUSE)

MART?NEZ: The sweeping³ proposals also include a pledge to begin a mandatory buyback of assault-style weapons that were banned two years ago. For more, reporter Emma Jacobs joins us from Montreal. Emma, how strict would these Canadian handgun restrictions⁴ be?

EMMA JACOBS, BYLINE⁵: Prime Minister Trudeau notably⁶ is not calling this a ban but a freeze on new handgun purchases. The government will also require long gun owners to make permanent modifications⁷ so they can't hold more than five rounds of ammunition⁸. People involved with domestic violence or stalking would lose their firearms license⁹. And a new red flag law would let courts demand that someone identified as a danger to themselves or to others surrender their firearms to police.

MART?NEZ: All right. Now tell us about the timing¹⁰ of all this. What exactly prompted this?

JACOBS: Back in April of 2020, Canada's deadliest mass shooting took place. That's when a man in rural Nova Scotia shot and killed 22 people at multiple locations over a 13-hour period. Since then, Trudeau's government has introduced a series of gun control bills. And this announcement does come just after the horrific school shooting in Uvalde, which received extensive media coverage¹¹ in Canada. But this is something the government has likely been working on for a while. The overall number of gun crimes and deaths has been rising in Canada for a number of years and the majority of those involve handguns. Back in 2020, Canada did ban 1,500 models of assault-style weapons, including the AR-15, which has been used in many mass shootings. One of Trudeau's cabinet ministers says the government intends to launch a mandatory buyback of those weapons later this year. The steps that Canada is taking, they do echo what New Zealand's government did in 2019 after a gunman killed 51 people at two mosques¹² in the city of Christchurch. What's different is that Canada, unlike New Zealand, shares a very long border with the country with the largest number of guns in the world. That's the U.S.

MART?NEZ: Yeah, I'm going to ask you about that in a second. I'm wondering then - Trudeau proposed it. So how likely will it be approved by the Canadian parliament?

JACOBS: Trudeau and allied¹³ parties likely have the votes to pass this. You've got to remember, there's no Second Amendment¹⁴ in Canada. There is no right to gun ownership here. And Trudeau argues that other than sports, shooting or hunting, there is no reason anyone in Canada should need guns in their everyday lives.

MART?NEZ: All right. So what would stop someone, Emma, from just jumping over the border and buying a gun in the United States, a handgun?

JACOBS: Well, the imports would also be barred here. But police departments say Canada has an American gun problem that really has to do with smuggling¹⁵. And this bill ups the penalties for smuggling guns. Last year, Toronto police said 86% of guns they seized after they'd been used in crimes could be traced back to the U.S. A couple of weeks ago, police in Ontario, they found a drone near the border that had been carrying 11 handguns when it got stuck in a tree. And actually, the gunman in the Nova Scotia killings¹⁶ in 2020, he used multiple firearms he'd smuggled¹⁷ in himself from Maine.

MART?NEZ: That's reporter Emma Jacobs in Montreal. Emma, thanks.

JACOBS: 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 mandatory   

adj.命令的；强制的；义务的；n.受托者

参考例句：

• It's mandatory to pay taxes.缴税是义务性的。
• There is no mandatory paid annual leave in the U.S.美国没有强制带薪年假。

3 sweeping   

adj.范围广大的，一扫无遗的

参考例句：

• The citizens voted for sweeping reforms.公民投票支持全面的改革。
• Can you hear the wind sweeping through the branches?你能听到风掠过树枝的声音吗？

4 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

5 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

6 notably   

adv.值得注意地，显著地，尤其地，特别地

参考例句：

• Many students were absent,notably the monitor.许多学生缺席，特别是连班长也没来。
• A notably short,silver-haired man,he plays basketball with his staff several times a week.他个子明显较为矮小，一头银发，每周都会和他的员工一起打几次篮球。

7 modifications   

n.缓和( modification的名词复数 )；限制；更改；改变

参考例句：

• The engine was pulled apart for modifications and then reassembled. 发动机被拆开改型，然后再组装起来。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The original plan had undergone fairly extensive modifications. 原计划已经作了相当大的修改。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 ammunition   

n.军火，弹药

参考例句：

• A few of the jeeps had run out of ammunition.几辆吉普车上的弹药已经用光了。
• They have expended all their ammunition.他们把弹药用光。

9 license   

n.执照，许可证，特许；v.许可，特许

参考例句：

• The foreign guest has a license on the person.这个外国客人随身携带执照。
• The driver was arrested for having false license plates on his car.司机由于使用假车牌而被捕。

10 timing   

n.时间安排，时间选择

参考例句：

• The timing of the meeting is not convenient.会议的时间安排不合适。
• The timing of our statement is very opportune.我们发表声明选择的时机很恰当。

11 coverage   

n.报导，保险范围，保险额，范围，覆盖

参考例句：

• There's little coverage of foreign news in the newspaper.报纸上几乎没有国外新闻报道。
• This is an insurance policy with extensive coverage.这是一项承保范围广泛的保险。

12 mosques   

清真寺； 伊斯兰教寺院，清真寺； 清真寺，伊斯兰教寺院( mosque的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Why make us believe that this tunnel runs underneath the mosques? 为什么要让我们相信这条隧洞是在清真寺下？
• The city's three biggest mosques, long fallen into disrepair, have been renovated. 城里最大的三座清真寺，过去年久失修，现在已经修复。

13 allied   

adj.协约国的；同盟国的

参考例句：

• Britain was allied with the United States many times in history.历史上英国曾多次与美国结盟。
• Allied forces sustained heavy losses in the first few weeks of the campaign.同盟国在最初几周内遭受了巨大的损失。

14 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。

15 smuggling   

n.走私

参考例句：

• Some claimed that the docker's union fronted for the smuggling ring.某些人声称码头工人工会是走私集团的掩护所。
• The evidence pointed to the existence of an international smuggling network.证据表明很可能有一个国际走私网络存在。

16 killings   

谋杀( killing的名词复数 )； 突然发大财，暴发

参考例句：

• His statement was seen as an allusion to the recent drug-related killings. 他的声明被视为暗指最近与毒品有关的多起凶杀案。
• The government issued a statement condemning the killings. 政府发表声明谴责这些凶杀事件。

17 smuggled   

水货

参考例句：

• The customs officer confiscated the smuggled goods. 海关官员没收了走私品。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Those smuggled goods have been detained by the port office. 那些走私货物被港务局扣押了。 来自互联网