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VOA常速英语2007-Activists in US Prepare for Major Legal Battle o

时间:2007-10-20 03:20来源:互联网 提供网友:许安   字体: [ ]
    (单词翻译:双击或拖选)
By Malcolm Brown
Washington
10 October 2007
 

Activists2 on both sides of America's contentious3 debate over gun control are gearing up for what could be a major showdown. Their focus is on the nation's highest court, which has been asked to decide whether Washington D.C.'s ban on handguns is constitutional. If the Supreme4 Court takes the case, that will set the stage for a high-stakes legal fight over the meaning of the Second Amendment5 to the United States Constitution. Malcolm Brown reports from Washington.

Community activist1 Sandra Seegars inspects another street memorial to a shooting victim in her southeast Washington neighborhood. It is a crime hotspot in a city with one of the highest murder rates in the United States. Seegars wants a gun for personal protection. "I say to the people who don't want one personally, I tell them, 'Then that's your choice, but everybody should have the right to say 'yes' or 'no' and not have them saying 'no' for you'."

Seegars went to court herself in a failed attempt to overturn Washington D.C.'s strict handgun law.

Now, the nation's highest court must decide whether it will take up the issue, after a lower court overturned the ban and the city appealed.

Tony Mauro, Supreme Court correspondent for the Legal Times, says the court has avoided the underlying6 issue for nearly 70 years. "This is really the longest-standing unanswered question in American law -- the meaning of the Second Amendment --and I think the court probably will finally decide that now is the time to answer it."

The Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution talks about the need for "a well regulated militia7," as well as "the right of the people to keep and bear arms."

Opponents of the handgun ban here in Washington D.C., emphasize the individual's right. Gun control advocates stress the militia aspect.

Washington's police department supports the argument of city officials -- that if the ban is lifted the result will be more gun violence.

In the bowels8 of police headquarters, a special unit processes seized firearms -- almost half of them handguns.

Even with the ban, the director of the Firearms Examination Section, Karen Wiggins, says her inbox is full. "On a typical day, we can get 15 to 20 firearms in a day. Last year we recovered over 2,600 firearms -- 2,656 to be exact. Previously9, in 2005, we recovered about 2,400 firearms. Considering the fact that the District of Columbia, I believe, has one of the most stringent10 gun laws in the land, I believe that shows that we clearly have a large volume of firearms coming into the District of Columbia."

The Supreme Court has just begun a new term, and has not yet indicated whether it will take the case. If it does, the decision would be historic.

Over at the Legal Times, Tony Mauro guesses that the ban would get struck down. "We now have a sharply more conservative Supreme Court. So, I think, again, if I had to predict, I think it might be a narrow decision, or a narrow margin11, but I think the view that the Second Amendment protects an individual right to bear arms will prevail." 

If the court does go that way, Mauro predicts decades of legal wrangling12 to define the limits of that right.


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1 activist gyAzO     
n.活动分子,积极分子
参考例句:
  • He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
  • He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。
2 activists 90fd83cc3f53a40df93866d9c91bcca4     
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》
3 contentious fa9yk     
adj.好辩的,善争吵的
参考例句:
  • She was really not of the contentious fighting sort.她委实不是好吵好闹的人。
  • Since then they have tended to steer clear of contentious issues.从那时起,他们总想方设法避开有争议的问题。
4 supreme PHqzc     
adj.极度的,最重要的;至高的,最高的
参考例句:
  • It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
  • He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。
5 amendment Mx8zY     
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。
6 underlying 5fyz8c     
adj.在下面的,含蓄的,潜在的
参考例句:
  • The underlying theme of the novel is very serious.小说隐含的主题是十分严肃的。
  • This word has its underlying meaning.这个单词有它潜在的含义。
7 militia 375zN     
n.民兵,民兵组织
参考例句:
  • First came the PLA men,then the people's militia.人民解放军走在前面,其次是民兵。
  • There's a building guarded by the local militia at the corner of the street.街道拐角处有一幢由当地民兵团守卫的大楼。
8 bowels qxMzez     
n.肠,内脏,内部;肠( bowel的名词复数 );内部,最深处
参考例句:
  • Salts is a medicine that causes movements of the bowels. 泻盐是一种促使肠子运动的药物。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The cabins are in the bowels of the ship. 舱房设在船腹内。 来自《简明英汉词典》
9 previously bkzzzC     
adv.以前,先前(地)
参考例句:
  • The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
  • Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿,解释原先发生了什么。
10 stringent gq4yz     
adj.严厉的;令人信服的;银根紧的
参考例句:
  • Financiers are calling for a relaxation of these stringent measures.金融家呼吁对这些严厉的措施予以放宽。
  • Some of the conditions in the contract are too stringent.合同中有几项条件太苛刻。
11 margin 67Mzp     
n.页边空白;差额;余地,余裕;边,边缘
参考例句:
  • We allowed a margin of 20 minutes in catching the train.我们有20分钟的余地赶火车。
  • The village is situated at the margin of a forest.村子位于森林的边缘。
12 wrangling 44be8b4ea358d359f180418e23dfd220     
v.争吵,争论,口角( wrangle的现在分词 )
参考例句:
  • The two sides have spent most of their time wrangling over procedural problems. 双方大部分时间都在围绕程序问题争论不休。 来自辞典例句
  • The children were wrangling (with each other) over the new toy. 孩子为新玩具(互相)争吵。 来自辞典例句
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