Thank you, everybody. Please -- Please have a seat. Good afternoon, everybody. 谢谢大家。请——请坐下。大家下午好。
Let me begin by thanking our Vice President, Joe Biden, for your dedication, Joe, to this issue, for bringing so many different voices to the table. Because while reducing gun violence is a complicated challenge, protecting our children from harm shouldn't be a divisive one. 首先，我要感谢我们的副总统Joe Biden，感谢你对这一问题的投入，Joe，感谢你将如此多不同的声音带到讨论桌上。因为虽然减少枪支暴力是一项复杂的挑战，但保护我们的孩子免受伤害不应成为引起分歧的话题。
Over the month since the tragedy in Newtown, we've heard from so many, and, obviously, none have affected us more than the families of those gorgeous children and their teachers and guardians who were lost. And so we're grateful to all of you for taking the time to be here, and recognizing that we honor their memories in part by doing everything we can to prevent this from happening again. 自纽敦惨案发生以来的一个月里，我们听到了许多人的声音，显然，最令我们动容的是那些可爱孩子以及他们失去的老师和守护者的家属。我们感谢你们抽出时间来到这里，并认识到我们通过竭尽全力防止此类事件再次发生来缅怀他们的记忆。
But we also heard from some unexpected people. In particular, I started getting a lot of letters from kids. Four of them are here today -- Grant Fritz, Julia Stokes, Hinna Zeejah, and Teja Goode. They're pretty representative of some of the messages that I got. These are some pretty smart letters from some pretty smart young people. 但我们也听到了一些出人意料的声音。特别是，我开始收到许多孩子们的来信。今天有四位在这里——Grant Fritz、Julia Stokes、Hinna Zeejah和Teja Goode。他们的信代表了收到的许多信息。这些是一些聪明的年轻人写的聪慧的信。
Hinna, a third-grader -- you can go ahead and wave, Hinna. That's you. Hinna wrote, "I feel terrible for the parents who lost their children…I love my country and [I] want everybody to be happy and safe." Hinna是一个三年级学生——你可以挥挥手，Hinna。就是你。Hinna写道：「我为失去孩子的父母感到难过……我爱我的国家，[我]希望每个人都快乐安全。」
And then, Grant -- go ahead and wave, Grant. Grant said, "I think there should be some changes. We should learn from what happened at Sandy Hook…I feel really bad." 然后，Grant——挥挥手，Grant。Grant说：「我认为应该有一些改变。我们应该从桑迪胡克事件中吸取教训……我感觉很难过。」
And then, Julia said -- Julia, where are you? There you go -- "I'm not scared for my safety, I'm scared for others. I have four brothers and sisters and I know I would not be able to bear the thought of losing any of them." 然后，Julia说——Julia，你在哪里？在那儿——「我不是为自己的安全害怕，我是为他人害怕。我有四个兄弟姐妹，我知道我无法承受失去他们中任何一个的想法。」
These are our kids. This is what they're thinking about. And so what we should be thinking about is our responsibility to care for them, and shield them from harm, and give them the tools they need to grow up and do everything that they're capable of doing -- not just to pursue their own dreams, but to help build this country. This is our first task as a society, keeping our children safe. This is how we will be judged. And their voices should compel us to change. 这些是我们的孩子。这就是他们在思考的事情。因此，我们应该思考的是我们的责任——关心他们，保护他们免受伤害，给予他们成长所需的工具，去做他们有能力做的一切——不仅追求自己的梦想，还帮助建设这个国家。作为社会，保护孩子们的安全是我们的首要任务。我们将以此接受评判。他们的声音应该推动我们改变。
And that's why, last month, I asked Joe to lead an effort, along with members of my Cabinet, to come up with some concrete steps we can take right now to keep our children safe, to help prevent mass shootings, to reduce the broader epidemic of gun violence in this country. 正因如此，上个月我请Joe领导一项工作，与我的内阁成员一起，制定一些我们现在就可以采取的具体措施，保护我们的孩子安全，帮助防止大规模枪击事件，减少我国枪支暴力的更广泛蔓延。
And we can't put this off any longer. Just last Thursday, as TV networks were covering one of Joe's meetings on this topic, news broke of another school shooting, this one in California. In the month since 20 precious children and six brave adults were violently taken from us at Sandy Hook Elementary, more than 900 of our fellow Americans have reportedly died at the end of a gun -- 900 in the past month. And every day we wait, that number will keep growing. 我们不能再拖延了。就在上周四，当电视网正在报道Joe关于这一议题的会议时，又一起校园枪击案的消息传来，这次是在加利福尼亚。自20名宝贵的儿童和6名勇敢的成年人在桑迪胡克小学被暴力夺走生命以来的一个月里，据报道已有超过900名同胞死于枪口之下——过去一个月就有900人。我们每多等一天，这个数字就会继续增长。
So I'm putting forward a specific set of proposals based on the work of Joe's task force. And in the days ahead, I intend to use whatever weight this office holds to make them a reality. Because while there is no law or set of laws that can prevent every senseless act of violence completely, no piece of legislation that will prevent every tragedy, every act of evil, if there is even one thing we can do to reduce this violence, if there is even one life that can be saved, then we've got an obligation to try. 因此，我正在提出一套具体的提案，基于Joe工作组的成果。在未来的日子里，我打算利用这一职位所拥有的一切力量将其变为现实。因为虽然没有哪项法律或法律体系能完全阻止每一次无意义的暴力行为，没有哪项立法能阻止每一场悲剧、每一次邪恶行为，但只要有一件事我们可以做来减少这种暴力，只要有一条生命可以被拯救，我们就有义务去尝试。
And I'm going to do my part. As soon as I'm finished speaking here, I will sit at that desk and I will sign a directive giving law enforcement, schools, mental health professionals and the public health community some of the tools they need to help reduce gun violence. 我将尽我的一份力。我在这里讲完话后，就会坐到那张桌子前，签署一项指令，为执法部门、学校、心理健康专业人士和公共卫生社区提供他们所需的一些工具，帮助减少枪支暴力。
We will make it easier to keep guns out of the hands of criminals by strengthening the background check system. We will help schools hire more resource officers if they want them and develop emergency preparedness plans. We will make sure mental health professionals know their options for reporting threats of violence -- even as we acknowledge that someone with a mental illness is far more likely to be a victim of violent crime than the perpetrator. 我们将通过加强背景审查系统，使枪支更容易远离犯罪分子。我们将帮助学校在需要时聘请更多资源官员，并制定应急准备计划。我们将确保心理健康专业人士了解报告暴力威胁的选项——同时我们承认，患有精神疾病的人远比成为施暴者更可能成为暴力犯罪的受害者。
And while year after year, those who oppose even modest gun safety measures have threatened to defund scientific or medical research into the causes of gun violence, I will direct the Centers for Disease Control to go ahead and study the best ways to reduce it -- and Congress should fund research into the effects that violent video games have on young minds. We don't benefit from ignorance. We don't benefit from not knowing the science of this epidemic of violence. 年复一年，那些甚至反对适度枪支安全措施的人威胁要削减对枪支暴力原因的科学研究或医学研究的资金，我将指示疾病控制中心继续研究减少枪支暴力的最佳方法——国会也应资助研究暴力电子游戏对年轻人心智的影响。我们不会从无知中获益。我们不会从不了解这一暴力流行的科学中获益。
These are a few of the 23 executive actions that I'm announcing today. But as important as these steps are, they are in no way a substitute for action from members of Congress. To make a real and lasting difference, Congress, too, must act -- and Congress must act soon. And I'm calling on Congress to pass some very specific proposals right away. 这些是我今天宣布的23项行政行动的一部分。但尽管这些步骤很重要，它们绝不能替代国会议员的行动。要产生真正持久的改变，国会也必须行动——而且国会必须尽快行动。我呼吁国会立即通过一些非常具体的提案。
First: It's time for Congress to require a universal background check for anyone trying to buy a gun. The law already requires licensed gun dealers to run background checks, and over the last 14 years that's kept 1.5 million of the wrong people from getting their hands on a gun. But it's hard to enforce that law when as many as 40 percent of all gun purchases are conducted without a background check. That's not safe. That's not smart. It's not fair to responsible gun buyers or sellers. 第一：国会是时候要求任何试图购买枪支的人接受全面背景审查了。法律已经要求持枪经销商进行背景审查，过去14年来，这已阻止了150万不该持枪的人获得枪支。但当高达40%的枪支购买是在没有背景审查的情况下进行时，这项法律很难执行。这不安全。这不明智。这对负责任的枪支买卖双方不公平。
If you want to buy a gun -- whether it's from a licensed dealer or a private seller -- you should at least have to show you are not a felon or somebody legally prohibited from buying one. This is common sense. And an overwhelming majority of Americans agree with us on the need for universal background checks -- including more than 70 percent of the National Rifle Association's members, according to one survey. So there's no reason we can't do this. 如果你想买枪——无论是从持牌经销商还是私人卖家——你至少应该证明你不是重罪犯或被法律禁止购枪的人。这是常识。绝大多数美国人同意我们需要全面背景审查——据一项调查，包括超过70%的全国步枪协会成员。因此，我们没有理由做不到这一点。
Second: Congress should restore a ban on military-style assault weapons, and a 10-round limit for magazines. The type of assault rifle used in Aurora, for example, when paired with high-capacity magazines, has one purpose -- to pump out as many bullets as possible, as quickly as possible; to do as much damage, using bullets often designed to inflict maximum damage. 第二：国会应恢复对军用式攻击性武器的禁令，并将弹匣容量限制在10发。例如，在奥罗拉使用的攻击型步枪，搭配大容量弹匣，只有一个目的——尽可能快地射出尽可能多的子弹；造成尽可能大的伤害，使用的子弹往往被设计为造成最大伤害。
And that's what allowed the gunman in Aurora to shoot 70 people -- 70 people -- killing 12 in a matter of minutes. Weapons designed for the theater of war have no place in a movie theater. A majority of Americans agree with us on this. 这正是奥罗拉枪手能够在几分钟内射杀70人——70人——其中12人死亡的原因。为战争场景设计的武器不应出现在电影院。大多数美国人在这点上同意我们的看法。
And, by the way, so did Ronald Reagan, one of the staunchest defenders of the Second Amendment, who wrote to Congress in 1994, urging them -- this is Ronald Reagan speaking -- urging them to "listen to the American public and to the law enforcement community and support a ban on the further manufacture of [military-style assault] weapons." 顺便说一句，Ronald Reagan也是如此——他是第二修正案最坚定的捍卫者之一，1994年他致信国会，敦促他们——这是Ronald Reagan说的——敦促他们「倾听美国公众和执法社区的声音，支持禁止进一步制造[军用式攻击性]武器。」
And finally, Congress needs to help, rather than hinder, law enforcement as it does its job. We should get tougher on people who buy guns with the express purpose of turning around and selling them to criminals. And we should severely punish anybody who helps them do this. Since Congress hasn't confirmed a director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms in six years, they should confirm Todd Jones, who will be -- who has been Acting, and I will be nominating for the post. 最后，国会需要帮助而非阻碍执法部门履行职责。我们应该对那些专门购买枪支然后转卖给犯罪分子的人更加严厉。我们应该严厉惩罚任何帮助他们这样做的人。国会六年来一直没有确认烟酒火器管理局的局长，他们应该确认Todd Jones——他一直担任代理局长，我将提名他担任此职。
And at a time when budget cuts are forcing many communities to reduce their police force, we should put more cops back on the job and back on our streets. 在预算削减迫使许多社区削减警力的时期，我们应该让更多警察重返岗位和街头。
Let me be absolutely clear. Like most Americans, I believe the Second Amendment guarantees an individual right to bear arms. I respect our strong tradition of gun ownership and the rights of hunters and sportsmen. There are millions of responsible, law-abiding gun owners in America who cherish their right to bear arms for hunting, or sport, or protection, or collection. 让我完全明确。和大多数美国人一样，我相信第二修正案保障了个人持枪的权利。我尊重我们强烈的枪支拥有传统和猎人及运动者的权利。美国有数以百万计的负责任、守法的枪支持有者，他们珍视自己为狩猎、运动、保护或收藏而持枪的权利。
I also believe most gun owners agree that we can respect the Second Amendment while keeping an irresponsible, law-breaking few from inflicting harm on a massive scale. I believe most of them agree that if America worked harder to keep guns out of the hands of dangerous people, there would be fewer atrocities like the one that occurred in Newtown. That's what these reforms are designed to do. They're common-sense measures. They have the support of the majority of the American people. 我也相信大多数枪支持有者同意，我们可以在尊重第二修正案的同时，阻止少数不负责任、违法的人造成大规模伤害。我相信他们大多数人同意，如果美国更努力地将枪支远离危险人物，纽敦那样的暴行就会更少。这就是这些改革旨在实现的。它们是常识性措施。它们得到大多数美国人的支持。
And yet, that doesn't mean any of this is going to be easy to enact or implement. If it were, we'd already have universal background checks. The ban on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines never would have been allowed to expire. More of our fellow Americans might still be alive, celebrating birthdays and anniversaries and graduations. 然而，这并不意味着这一切将容易颁布或实施。如果是容易的话，我们早就有全面背景审查了。攻击性武器和大容量弹匣的禁令就不会被允许失效。更多的同胞可能还活着，庆祝生日、纪念日和毕业典礼。
This will be difficult. There will be pundits and politicians and special interest lobbyists publicly warning of a tyrannical, all-out assault on liberty -- not because that's true, but because they want to gin up fear or higher ratings or revenue for themselves. And behind the scenes, they'll do everything they can to block any common-sense reform and make sure nothing changes whatsoever. 这将很困难。会有评论员、政客和特殊利益游说者公开警告说这是对自由的暴政式全面攻击——不是因为那是事实，而是因为他们想要煽动恐惧或提高收视率或收入。在幕后，他们会竭尽全力阻止任何常识性改革，确保什么都不会改变。
The only way we will be able to change is if their audience, their constituents, their membership says this time must be different -- that this time, we must do something to protect our communities and our kids. 我们能够改变的唯一方式是他们的受众、他们的选民、他们的会员说这次必须不同——这一次，我们必须做些什么来保护我们的社区和我们的孩子。
I will put everything I've got into this, and so will Joe. But I tell you, the only way we can change is if the American people demand it. And by the way, that doesn't just mean from certain parts of the country. We're going to need voices in those areas, in those congressional districts, where the tradition of gun ownership is strong to speak up and to say this is important. It can't just be the usual suspects. We have to examine ourselves and our hearts, and ask ourselves what is important. 我将全力以赴，Joe也会如此。但我告诉你们，我们能改变的唯一方式是美国人民的要求。顺便说一句，这不仅仅意味着来自国家的某些地区。我们需要那些枪支拥有传统强大的地区、那些国会选区的声音站出来说这很重要。这不能只是那些老面孔。我们必须审视自己和我们的内心，问自己什么才是重要的。
This will not happen unless the American people demand it. If parents and teachers, police officers and pastors, if hunters and sportsmen, if responsible gun owners, if Americans of every background stand up and say, enough; we've suffered too much pain and care too much about our children to allow this to continue -- then change will come. That's what it's going to take. 除非美国人民要求，否则这不会发生。如果父母和老师、警察和牧师、猎人和运动者、负责任的枪支拥有者、各种背景的美国人站起来说，够了；我们已经承受了太多痛苦，太在乎我们的孩子而不能让这种情况继续——那么改变就会到来。这就是所需要的。
In the letter that Julia wrote me, she said, "I know that laws have to be passed by Congress, but I beg you to try very hard." Julia, I will try very hard. But she's right. The most important changes we can make depend on congressional action. They need to bring these proposals up for a vote, and the American people need to make sure that they do. 在Julia写给我的信中，她说：「我知道法律必须由国会通过，但我恳求你尽力而为。」Julia，我会尽力而为。但她说得对。我们能做出的最重要改变取决于国会的行动。他们需要将这些提案付诸表决，而美国人民需要确保他们这样做。
Get them on record. Ask your member of Congress if they support universal background checks to keep guns out of the wrong hands. Ask them if they support renewing a ban on military-style assault weapons and high-capacity magazines. And if they say no, ask them why not. Ask them what's more important -- doing whatever it takes to get a A grade from the gun lobby that funds their campaigns, or giving parents some peace of mind when they drop their child off for first grade? 让他们表态。问问你的国会议员是否支持全面背景审查以防止枪支落入不该拥有的人手中。问问他们是否支持恢复对军用式攻击性武器和大容量弹匣的禁令。如果他们说否，问问他们为什么。问问他们什么更重要——不惜一切代价从资助他们竞选的枪支游说团体那里获得A评级，还是让父母在送孩子上一年级时获得一些安心？
This is the land of the free, and it always will be. As Americans, we are endowed by our Creator with certain inalienable rights that no man or government can take away from us. But we've also long recognized, as our Founders recognized, that with rights come responsibilities. Along with our freedom to live our lives as we will comes an obligation to allow others to do the same. We don't live in isolation. We live in a society, a government of, and by, and for the people. We are responsible for each other. 这是自由的国土，而且永远如此。作为美国人，造物者赋予我们某些不可剥夺的权利，任何人都无法从我们手中夺走。但我们也早已认识到，正如我们的建国者所认识到的，权利伴随着责任。我们自由地生活的同时，也有义务允许他人同样生活。我们不是孤立存在的。我们生活在一个社会中，一个民有、民治、民享的政府。我们对彼此负有责任。
The right to worship freely and safely, that right was denied to Sikhs in Oak Creek, Wisconsin. The right to assemble peaceably, that right was denied shoppers in Clackamas, Oregon, and moviegoers in Aurora, Colorado. 自由安全地进行宗教礼拜的权利——这一权利在威斯康星州橡树溪被锡克教徒剥夺了。和平集会的权利——这一权利在俄勒冈州克拉卡马斯的购物者和科罗拉多州奥罗拉的电影观众身上被剥夺了。
That most fundamental set of rights to life and liberty and the pursuit of happiness -- fundamental rights that were denied to college students at Virginia Tech, and high school students at Columbine, and elementary school students in Newtown, and kids on street corners in Chicago on too frequent a basis to tolerate, and all the families who've never imagined that they'd lose a loved one to a bullet -- those rights are at stake. We're responsible. 那些最根本的权利——生命权、自由权和追求幸福的权利——这些基本权利在弗吉尼亚理工大学的大学生、哥伦拜恩高中学生、纽敦小学学生以及芝加哥街头的孩子们身上被剥夺，其频率之高已令人无法容忍；还有那些从未想过会失去亲人于枪口之下的家庭——这些权利正面临威胁。我们有责任。
When I visited Newtown last month, I spent some private time with many of the families who lost their children that day. And one was the family of Grace McDonald. Grace's parents are here. Grace was seven years old when she was struck down -- just a gorgeous, caring, joyful little girl. I'm told she loved pink. She loved the beach. She dreamed of becoming a painter. 上个月我访问纽敦时，我与许多当天失去孩子的家庭私下度过了时间。其中一个是Grace McDonald的家庭。Grace的父母今天在这里。Grace被夺走生命时只有七岁——一个美丽、关爱他人、快乐的小女孩。听说她喜欢粉色。她喜欢海滩。她梦想成为一名画家。
And so just before I left, Chris, her father, gave me one of her paintings, and I hung it in my private study just off the Oval Office. And every time I look at that painting, I think about Grace. And I think about the life that she lived and the life that lay ahead of her, and most of all, I think about how, when it comes to protecting the most vulnerable among us, we must act now -- for Grace. 因此，就在我离开前，Chris——她的父亲——给了我她的一幅画，我把它挂在了椭圆形办公室旁边的私人书房里。每次我看到那幅画，我都会想起Grace。我想起她度过的一生和前方等待她的一生，最重要的是，我想起在保护我们中最脆弱的群体时，我们必须立即行动——为了Grace。
For the 25 other innocent children and devoted educators who had so much left to give. For the men and women in big cities and small towns who fall victim to senseless violence each and every day. For all the Americans who are counting on us to keep them safe from harm. Let's do the right thing. Let's do the right thing for them, and for this country that we love so much. 为了其他25名无辜儿童和奉献的教育者，他们还有太多可以给予。为了大城市和小城镇中每一天都成为无意义暴力受害者的男男女女。为了所有指望我们保护他们免受伤害的美国人。让我们做正确的事。让我们为他们，也为我们如此热爱的这个国家，做正确的事。
Thank you. Let's sign these orders. 谢谢。让我们签署这些命令。
