A senior at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School weeps in front of a memorial for victims of a shooting at her school while a classmate comforts her on Feb 18. CFP
2月14日的情人节本应该是个洋溢着爱与幸福的日子。但对于美国佛罗里达州玛乔丽·斯通曼·道格拉斯高中的学生们而言，今年的情人节是场噩梦。
A mass shooting occurred at the school that day, with at least 17 people dead and several others wounded, according to NBC News. This makes it the deadliest school shooting in the US since 20 children and six adults died in a mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School, Connecticut, in 2012, according to Time magazine.
据美国全国广播公司报道，当天该校校园里发生了一场大规模枪击案，造成至少17人死亡，多人受伤。据《时代》杂志报道，这场枪击案是自2012年威斯康辛州桑迪胡克小学枪击案以来，伤亡人数最多的校园枪击案，当时共有20名儿童及6名成人在枪击案中丧生。
Nikolas Cruz, 19, a former student of the school who had been expelled for breaking school rules, confessed to carrying out the shootings. The weapon that he used was a rifle, which he had bought completely legally.
现年19岁的尼古拉·科鲁兹曾是该校学生，因违反校规而被学校开除，他对自己实施枪击案一事供认不讳。而他所使用的武器则是一把合法购买的步枪。
This raised awareness of a serious issue, that “most Americans can buy a rifle before they can buy their first beer”, wrote HuffPost. While Americans have to turn 21 to buy alcohol legally, they can buy a gun, including a rifle, at the age of 18 in most states, according to the Guardian.
这令人们意识到一个严峻的问题，“大多数美国人在买到人生中的第一杯啤酒之前，都能买到一把步枪”，《赫芬顿邮报》写道。据《卫报》报道，美国人需要年满21岁才能合法买酒，而在美国的大多数州，人们只需年满18岁便可购买包括步枪在内的枪支。
“It is absolutely striking that a young adult who is not legally able to buy alcohol can just walk into a gun store and, provided they pass a background check, can buy a very high-powered and, in some cases, military-style weapon,” Lindsay Nichols, from the Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence, told the Guardian.
“令人相当震惊的一点是，还不能合法买酒的年轻人可以径直走入枪支店，出示其通过背景审查的证明，便能买到一把火力很强的枪械，有时候还能买到一把军事用枪，”吉福德法防止枪支暴力中心的琳赛·尼克尔斯在接受《卫报》采访时表示。
The low age requirement for buying long-range guns can be traced back decades, when hunting was very popular among young people in the US, according to the Associated Press.
据美联社报道，购买远射程枪械的低龄需求可以追溯到几十年前，当时打猎在美国年轻人中相当流行。
“Young men would have valid reasons for hunting, and they could even have [a gun] for self defense, but it was primarily for recreation,” Adam Winkler, a law professor at the University of California at Los Angeles, US, told HuffPost.
“年轻人有正当理由打猎，他们甚至还能持枪自卫，但主要还是出于娱乐，”美国加州大学洛杉矶分校法律系教授亚当·温克勒在接受《赫芬顿邮报》采访时表示。
Now, this latest mass shooting in the US has brought back debates over gun control in the country. On Feb 19, many students protested in front of the White House in Washington, calling for more to be done about gun control. The US government is now considering raising the minimum age for buying guns, reported The Telegraph.
如今，美国最近的这宗大规模枪击案再度在全国范围内引发了人们对控枪的讨论。2月19日，许多学生在位于华盛顿的白宫门前抗议，要求对于控枪采取更多措施。据《每日电讯报》报道，美国政府目前正考虑提高购买枪支的年龄下限。
As incidents such as this one are becoming more common in the US, perhaps now is the time for the US to finally take action. Just as Sofie Whitney, a senior student at Marjory Stoneman Douglas high school, told the Guardian, “The only way to get through is by making the change.”
随着类似的事件在美国频发，现在或许是美国采取行动的时候了。正如玛乔丽·斯通曼·道格拉斯高中的高年级学生苏菲·惠特尼在接受《卫报》采访时所言，“解决这一问题的唯一途径就是做出改变。”
