After the Orlando Shooting, Presidential Candidates Vie for the Front

Published in Caixin
(China) on 14 June 2016
by Zhang Xiao'en (link to originallink to original)
Translated from by Jake Eberts. Edited by Shelby Stillwell.
The shooting at an Orlando gay bar lead to 50 dead and 53 wounded. It has already been defined as a terrorist attack and a hate crime. Since 9/11, terrorism has relentlessly infiltrated the lives of the masses. Home-grown American terrorism and foreign terrorism continuously create panic, like two separate blades cutting at once. This kind of panic is just like poison, slowly permeating and then flaring out, creating even greater terror. The only difference between this terrorist attack, which occurred during America’s Pride Month, and previous attacks is the special status of the people [who were killed].

Homosexuality once was clearly prohibited by many religions and called a great abomination, but gay marriage is now legal after an unending wave of liberalization in America and many states’ legislative battles. This last shred of the veil has been torn down, and homosexuals now proudly proclaim their culture and sexuality in broad daylight. Not even the rush of appeals and signatures by religious members and conservatives could hold back the tide for the reasonable legalization of homosexuality in numerous American states. Moreover, the rights and liberties of homosexuals have been greatly pushed, flaunted and advocated for by those who take “politically correct” as a slogan. This June, the month when homosexuals traditionally celebrate, they became the target of slaughter.

The perpetrator of this attack is an American-born man of Afghan heritage, and in addition to his Islamic terrorist background, the way in which he acquired such heavy weaponry has also become an important point of discussion. The killer owned a weapons permit and was easily able to acquire the heavy weapons needed to slaughter everyday citizens. But now the Republican Party candidate says that if every person inside the gay bar had a gun, they could have prevented the massacre from happening in the first place; he also says his proposal to ban Muslims from entering the country was intelligent foresight, and he further stirred the pot by implying a link between Muslims and the president. At this point, we can only grieve for such an opportunist’s assent; but what is even more tragic is the tremendous uproar it caused.

In a time of such national pain, a leader should put down partisan politics and pay attention to safety and gun control. Yet, the calls for gun control fall on deaf ears— the cries were once heard in 1994, when the American Congress passed the Assault Weapons Ban, prohibiting semi-automatic assault weapons. The ban expired in 2004. The American gun control debate repeats over and over because of those standing up for different interests and different views, and because the Republican-led Congress has set many obstacles on the path to gun control. The National Rifle Association serves as a major financier for candidates at every level of office, and only those able to spend immense sums lobbying for gun control will be able to bring it back to the policy table. In this last lame duck session, Obama has limited ability to influence gun control legislation (everyone probably remembers his tears as he announced his executive order on gun control—in those tears were both sorrow and grief over having been wronged). And even if the pro-gun control Democratic candidate is elected, whether or not she could actually act—that remains quite an open question.


发生在奥兰多同性恋酒吧的枪击造成50人死亡,53人受伤。这已经被定义为恐怖袭击,仇恨袭击。911以来,恐怖袭击已经如影随形进入大众的生活。美国本土的恐怖主义和国外的恐怖主义如同两把利剑不断制造着恐慌。这种恐慌就如同毒品一样,慢慢渗透发作,不断冒出制造更大范围的心理恐惧。而在6月全美的同性恋传统月里发生这样的恐怖袭击,和以往恐怖袭击唯一不同的是人群的特定性。
  同性恋本在很多宗教中被明令禁止,被称为极大的罪恶,但是美国不断自由化的思潮下,很多州也以立法挑战传统,同性恋婚姻合法化。这“最后一块儿遮羞布”都被拿掉,同性恋在阳光下骄傲地宣扬自己的文化和取向。尽管宗教和保守人士奔走呼吁、签名联署也挡不住美国多个州同性恋合理合法的大势。而且,同性恋的人群和权益也被以“政治正确”为口号的人极大运用、倡导和标榜。而在6月,同性恋人群在这个同性恋欢庆的传统月里成为了被屠戮的对象。
  本次作案的凶手是出生在美国本土的阿富汗裔,如何获得重型武器也成为他的伊斯兰恐怖分子背景之外又一个重要的讨论。凶手具有拥枪执照,可以轻而易举获得重型武器,对于平民百姓大加杀戮。可是在此时,共和党的参选人还在说,如果在同性恋酒吧的每一个人或者其中几个人拥有一把枪,就可以防止这样的大规模杀伤发生;他还再次欢呼自己禁止穆斯林入境的“远见卓识”,而且还让美国总统和穆斯林有关联这样的阴谋论甚嚣尘上。此刻,我们只能悲哀一位“机会主义者”的上位。更可悲的是还有摇旗呐喊者。
  如果在这样一个举国悲痛的时刻,放下党派的争论,关注国家安全和枪支管控才是一个领导者应该的发声。然而,枪支管控也只能是一声声无力的呐喊!美国管控枪支的禁令历史上有,1994年美国国会通过了“攻击性武器禁令”,禁止半自动武器一类的进攻性军事枪械,这个禁令到2004年已失效。因为站在不同的利益和不同的角度上,美国的枪支管控争论重重,共和党为主的国会对枪支管控设置了重重障碍。美国全国步枪协会作为各级参选人的大金主,舍得花费重金做枪支政策的游说,也使得枪支管控政策提了又提,摆了又摆。在瘸腿鸭的最后任期,奥巴马对于枪支管控能做的有限(大家可能还记得今年在颁布枪支管控总统行政令时他流下的泪水,也许泪水中有悲伤也有委屈。)而即便是支持枪支管控的民主党参选人如果当选,能否有所作为,放在这里的也只能是一个大大的问号。
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