控訴槍械廠商的權利 The Right to Sue the Gun Industry

The New York Times

By THE EDITORIAL BOARDMARCH 4, 2016

2012年在桑迪‧胡克小學，發瘋的青少年使用軍用突擊步槍，在五分鐘內射擊154發，殺害20名康乃狄克州的學童與6名成年人，這個世界退縮到恐怖。 兇手使用的武器是大毒蛇 AR-15 半自動手槍，這是改造自戰場上的武器。AR-15 半自動手槍的設計可以快速連發，這會造成最大的傷亡人數，絕對不能夠讓公民購買。

The world recoiled in horror in 2012 when 20 Connecticut schoolchildren and six adults were killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School by a deranged teenager using a military-style assault rifleto fire 154 rounds in less than five minutes. The weapon was a Bushmaster AR-15 semiautomatic rifle adapted from its original role as a battlefield weapon. The AR-15, which is designed to inflict maximum casualties with rapid bursts, should never have been available for purchase by civilians.

這些7、8歲受害學生的父母，現在正在康乃狄克州法庭努力地削減槍械出現在學校的機會，這是很合理的。他們正試圖起訴槍械製造廠「雷明登」；「雷明登」是批發商；本地零售商魯莽地提供武器到消費市場，「如果沒有意識到要去控告槍枝製造廠，一定會發生其他的大屠殺。」

This is the eminently reasonable point that the parents of the 6- and 7-year-old students cut down at the school are now pressing in Connecticut state court. They are attempting to sue the gun manufacturer, Remington; the wholesaler; and a local retailer for recklessness in providing the weapon to the consumer marketplace “with no conceivable use for it other than the mass killing of other human beings.”

問題是，這項訴訟是否能夠持續是有爭議的， 因為國會被槍枝遊說團體盯著，在2005年愚蠢地授予槍械廠商，當他們出產的槍用於犯罪造成傷害時，廠商有完全的法律豁免權。

The question of whether the lawsuit will be allowed to proceed is at issue because Congress, prodded by the gun lobby, in 2005 foolishly granted the gun industry nearly complete immunity from legal claims and damages from the criminal use of guns.

桑迪‧胡克小學槍擊案受害家長爭辯，他們的訴訟應該持續，因為法律(槍械買賣保護法)說，如果槍械廠商知道或必須知道，他們販賣的武器有可能會傷害到其他人，受害者將可以向槍械廠商索賠－例如，槍械經銷商。桑迪‧胡克小學受害家長爭辯說，大毒蛇 AR-15 半自動手槍的製造商應受譴責，因為它在已知的情況下，銷售有危險性的戰爭武器給公民。

The Sandy Hook parents argue that their suit should continue because that law, the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act, allows claims against companies — gun shop dealers, for example — if they knew or should have known that the weapons they sold were likely to risk injury to others. The parents contend that the maker of the Bushmaster is no less culpable because it knowingly marketed a risky war weapon to civilians.

製造商聲稱，他們聯邦法律下有完整的豁免權。幾乎每個起訴槍械製造商的官司，都因為這個保障法，在聯邦與州法庭被駁回。關於是否允許訴訟持續進行，康乃狄克州的法官將在下個月底做成裁決，這項裁決廣泛受到軍火工業與槍枝管制支持者期待，因為它能夠提供一個法律體系，使槍械廠商的產品造成大規模槍擊死亡時，可以被問責。

The manufacturer is claiming total immunity under the federal law. Nearly every lawsuit filed against firearms makers has been dismissed in federal and state courts because of this shield law. The Connecticut state judge’s decision on whether to allow the suit to proceed, expected by the end of next month, is widely awaited by the arms industry and gun control proponents because it could well provide a legal framework for holding the industry accountable for the mass shooting deaths made possible by its products.

這場官司引用無數的案例，在那些案例裡，軍火工業用大男人主義的軍事術語，銷售攻擊步槍與30發子彈彈匣給公民，攻擊步槍的功能包括軍事公認的性能和最終的戰鬥武器系統。原告舉一個相反的例子來對比，型男獵槍推銷的賣點是5發子彈彈匣。

The lawsuit cites numerous instances in which the arms industry has used macho military terms in marketing assault rifles and 30-round ammunition magazines to civilians, including boasts of “military-proven performance” and “the ultimate combat weapons system.” As the plaintiffs note, sportsmen’s hunting rifles, by contrast, are marketed with five-round clips.

當希拉蕊攻擊桑德斯議員曾經投贊成票支持槍械工業保護法，可恥的槍械工業保護法律變成總統初選的要素。從此以後，桑德斯改變他的立場支持廢除 槍械工業保護法，無庸置疑地，共和黨參選人持續迎合擁槍權狂熱，閃避這個問題。

This shameful gun industry shield law became a factor in the presidential primaries when Hillary Clinton attacked Senator Bernie Sanders, her Democratic rival, for having voted for it. Mr. Sanders has since changed his position to favor repeal of the law; the Republican candidates, needless to say, continue to pander to gun rights zealots and duck the issue.

除了要求賠償，桑迪‧胡克小學槍擊案受害家長目標在強制AR-15半自動手槍退出市場。「兇手想要造成最大傷亡人數，就選擇AR-15半自動手槍為行兇的武器，美國許多學校就在這種暴力的最前線，」他們說。

Beyond seeking damages, the Sandy Hook parents aim to force the AR-15 off the market. “The AR-15 is the weapon of choice for shooters looking to inflict maximum casualties, and American schools are on the forefront of such violence,” they say.

為了尋求他們的孩子與社區的正義，這些家長幫助控制失控的槍械產業，減少嚴重的國家痛苦。

In seeking justice for their children and their community, these parents could help rein in a runaway industry and reduce a grievous national affliction.