183  联合国禁止轻武器非法交易使美国来福枪协会深感不安

UN Draft Worries NRA
Breck Ardery
United Nations
16 Jul 2001 18:50 UTC

Groups representing private 1)firearms owners have made formal presentations to the U.N. Conference on the 2)Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons.
The groups say that while they are all against the illicit trade in military weapons, they are also very concerned that a draft U.N. statement on the subject does not 3)adequately 4)define small arms and light weapons.
Thomas Mason of the National Rifle Association of the United States, told the conference that those 5)promoting the draft statement have conflicting opinions about its meaning. "Some assure us that the end result will have no impact on 6)lawful, civilian ownership of guns," Mr. Mason said. "Others propose that it could, should, must and will. We can not ignore aspects of the proposal that would affect civilian firearms ownership in the United States and worldwide."
Of special concern to the gun ownership groups is a section of the draft statement that says nations should consider legal restrictions on the ownership of small arms and light weapons. The groups worry that language could be 7)interpreted to include weapons commonly used for hunting and sports shooting.
The United States says it will not support the draft statement in its present form and negotiations will continue through the week in efforts to reach a 8)consensus by the close of the UN conference on Friday.

(1) firearms n.火器, 轻武器
(2) illicit[I5lIsIt]adj.违法的
(3) adequately adv.充分地
(4) define[dI5faIn]vt.定义, 详细说明
(5) promote[prE5mEJt]vt.促进, 发扬, 提升, 提拔, 晋升为
(6) lawful[5lC:fJl]adj.法律许可的, 守法的, 受自然规律支配的
(7) interpret[In5t:prIt]v.解释, 说明, 口译, 通译, 认为是...的意思
(8) consensus[kEn5sensEs]n.一致同意, 多数人的意见, 舆论