Why Gun Sales Boomed In June
六月，枪支销售因何大热
Guns are not perishable items. Kept in good repair a firearm lasts generations. So how is it that gun sales continue to set records when more than 100 million American gun owners already have over 300 million guns?
枪支不是易腐商品，照料的好，可以保用数代。那么，为何当超过1亿多美国枪主已拥有3亿多支枪时，枪支销售量仍然屡创新高呢？
Last month, for example, was the busiest June for gun sales ever. The National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF), the trade association for firearms manufacturers, says gun dealers completed 886,825 background checks in June 2015.
就近的说，上个月是史上枪支销售最火爆的六月。美国全国射击运动基金会（National Shooting Sports Foundation ，NSSF），一个由军火生产商组成的贸易协会，宣称2015年6月枪支销售商们完成了886,825例（对购买枪支者的）背景调查。【译注：此类背景调查所依据的是1993年通过的布雷迪手枪暴力防治法（Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act）设立的背景调查制度，该法案禁止出售枪支给受限人群。】
The NSSF follows the FBI-administered National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) closely. Each time someone wants to buy a gun from a licensed dealer their name must be called into the FBI’s NICS database (or, in some cases, a state-operated database) to check if that person is barred from possessing a gun.
NSSF严格遵守由FBI管理的全国即时犯罪背景调查系统（National Instant Criminal Background Check System，NICS）的有关规定。每当有人想从特许枪支销售商那里购买枪支，其姓名必须被输进FBI的NICS数据库（或者，在某些情况下，由州运营的数据库），以检查此人是否被限制拥有枪支。
The NSSF said the number of NICS checks last June was “the highest” on record “for the 17-year-old [NICS] system.” It was an increase of 10.1 percent over June 2014.
NSSF表示，上个月是NICS系统建立17年以来背景调查次数最多的六月，比去年同期增加了10.1%。
Now, some news reports say this jump in sales is all about gun owners’ fears about more gun control coming in the wake of the horrific attack on parishioners on June 17 at a church in Charleston, South Carolina. The thing is this can’t be the whole story because in May 2015 some 918,707 background checks were called into the FBI’s database, making it the second-highest May ever.
现在，一些新闻报道认为，此次枪支销量突增全是因为，6月17日发生在南卡罗来纳州查尔斯顿一座教堂中针对教徒的严重枪击事件，导致持枪者们担心政府会进一步加强枪支管控。但这并不是全部的理由，因为在2015年的五月，FBI的数据库进行了918,707次背景调查，这是有史以来次数第二多的五月。
Rifles stand on a rack at Article 2 Gun Store in Lombard, Illinois. U.S. (Photographer: Tim Boyle/Bloomberg)
美国伊利诺伊州Lombard镇的“Article 2”枪店内陈列的来复枪。【译注：Article 2即宪法第二修正案：纪律严明的民兵是保障自由州的安全所必需的，因此人民持有和携带武器的权利不得侵犯。】（摄影：Tim Boyle/Bloomberg）
For a deeper explanation I contacted Jim Curcuruto, director, industry research & analysis for the NSSF. He said, “Background checks were up over 19 percent in South Carolina, as compared to the previous June, but that one state isn’t enough to make the NICS checks jump 10 percent nationally. So, after making a lot of calls, we found that some of the bump was related to sales and other deals at retail chains. Some percentage of the rise in sales was definitely related to fear of more gun control. There are also typically spikes in sales regionally after something occurs that prompts people to look for ways to protect their own lives. But there has also been a steady rise in gun sales for some time. So there were multiple factors involved.”
为了获得更深入的解释，我联系到了NSSF行业研究分析主管Jim Curcuruto。他说：“南卡罗来纳州的背景调查数量相比于去年六月增加超过19%，但是一个州的情况变化并不足以导致全国范围的NICS背景调查数量突增10%。所以，在打了很多电话进行调查之后，我们发现，数量突增一部分与连锁零售店的交易量有关，一部分也确实出于对强化枪支管控的担忧。如果在某个地区发生了一些事件，人们由此意识到需要采取行动来保卫自己的生命，当地的枪支销售量也通常会突然增加。但是，枪支销量的稳定上升也有一段时间了。所以，全国调查数量的突增涉及到很多因素。”
Of course, we’re talking about NICS checks here, not actual gun sales. Just because someone undergoes a background check doesn’t mean they necessarily purchased a gun; also, someone could buy multiple guns after a single background check. This is why NICS is seen only as an indicator of the volume of gun sales.
当然，我们在此讨论的只是NICS的背景调查数目，而非真实的枪支销售量。并不是说一个人接受了背景调查之后就一定买了一把枪；同样，一个人可以买很多把枪而只需进行一次背景调查。正因此，NICS只能被视为判断枪支销量的指标之一。
Now, I started by asking why gun sales continue to set records when more than 100 million American gun owners already have over 300 million guns? This probably had a lot of gun aficionados asking, “What, the average gun owner only has three guns?”
现在回到本文开头提出的问题，“为什么当1亿多的美国枪主已拥有3亿多支枪时，枪支销量仍屡创新高？”。恐怕有很多枪支爱好者要问了，“什么？每位枪主才三支枪？”
Guns, you see, are heirlooms, works of art, and practical tools used for sport, self-defense and hunting. As works of art or tools—or both—guns have a specific purposes. Hunters will have a specific gun or guns for big game, for upland birds, for waterfowl and so on.
你瞧，枪支是传家宝、艺术品，还是用于体育、自卫和狩猎的实用工具。不论是作为艺术品还是实用工具，抑或两者兼具，枪支都有着特定的用途。猎人们用不同种类的枪分别对付丛林里的大家伙、陆鸟或是水鸟。
Those who are into the shooting sports will find their collection expanding as they mature and try new sports. Those looking for self-defense guns will try new carry guns and more as technology and design adds options. As for collectors, well, by definition they just can’t get enough. So it’s actually not all that helpful to compare the number of guns in private hands to the number of gun owners.
当射击爱好者们变得老练起来，并开始尝试新项目，他们的枪支储备也随之而不断扩充。想买把枪防身的人则会不停地尝试新款配枪，而技术与设计的发展也为他们提供了更多的选择。至于收藏者，看这称呼就知道他们永远都不会满足。所以，将私人拥有的枪支数量和持枪者的数量进行比较并没有什么意义。
翻译：Eartha（@王小贰_Eartha）
校对：晓舸（@ShawXG）
编辑：辉格@whigzhou