By Gregor Aisch and Josh Keller from The New York Times
Nov. 13, 2015
About 50,000 guns are found to be diverted to criminals across state lines every year.
In California, some gun smugglers use FedEx. In Chicago, smugglers drive just across the state line into Indiana, buy a gun and drive back. In Orlando, Fla., smugglers have been known to fill a $500 car with guns and send it on a ship to crime rings in Puerto Rico.
在加利福尼亚州，一些枪贩使用联邦快递邮寄枪支。在芝加哥，枪贩们只需驾车到旁边的印第安纳州买上一支枪，再开车返回芝加哥进行售卖。在佛罗里达州的奥兰多，长久以来，枪贩们在价值 500 美元的廉价汽车中塞满枪支，将汽车海运到波多黎各，再卖给当地的犯罪团伙。
In response to mass shootings in the last few years, more than 20 states, including some of the nation's biggest, have passed new laws restricting how people can buy and carry guns. Yet the effect of those laws has been significantly diluted by a thriving underground market for firearms brought from states with few restrictions.
过去几年，美国各地发生了大规模枪击事件。作为回应，全国有超过 20 个州（包括全国最大的几个州）已经通过了新法律，旨在限制民众购枪、持枪。然而，有一个庞大的地下黑市，专门从监管宽松的州购买枪支，并销售到监管严格的州。这个地下黑市对限枪法律造成了巨大冲击。
About 50,000 guns are found to be diverted to criminals across state lines every year, federal data shows, and many more are likely to cross state lines undetected.
联邦有关数据显示，每年约有 5 万把手枪跨州流通到各地犯罪分子手中；更多此类枪支由于种种原因而未被统计。
In New York and New Jersey, which have some of the strictest laws in the country, more than two-thirds of guns tied to criminal activity were traced to out-of-state purchases in 2014. Many were brought in via the so-called Iron Pipeline, made up of Interstate 95 and its tributary highways, from Southern states with weaker gun laws, like Virginia, Georgia and Florida.
纽约和新泽西两州拥有全美最严格的限枪法律。在 2014 年，这两州的犯罪活动中，超过三分之二的涉案枪支来源于外州。许多枪支从监管较弱的南部各州（如弗吉尼亚、乔治亚和佛罗里达）一路向北，通过 95 号州际高速公路及其支路，抵达纽约和新泽西。这条流通路线被称为“ Iron Pipeline ”。
The Iron Pipeline
A handgun used in the killing of two Brooklyn officers last year was traced to a pawnshop just south of Atlanta. A revolver used in a fatal shooting of an officer in Queens in May was traced to a roadside pawnshop, also in Georgia, about 100 miles from Atlanta. And a handgun used to kill an officer in East Harlem last month was traced to South Carolina.
去年，两名布鲁克林区警官被杀，涉案枪支来自亚特兰大南部一家当铺。在五月，一名皇后区警官被杀，涉案枪支同样来自乔治亚州一家街边当铺，距离亚特兰大约 100 英里。上月，东哈莱姆区一名警官被杀，涉案枪支来自南卡罗来纳州。
"We're trying to deal with it, but we have a spigot that's wide open down there and we don't have a national or local ability to shut that spigot down at the moment," said the New York City police commissioner, William J. Bratton, as he announced an indictment against gun traffickers last week.
“我们正在全力以赴，但是枪支仍然不断涌入。在缺乏国家及地方监管的前提下，我们无法阻止这一现状。”上周，纽约市警务处长 William J. Bratton 在宣告起诉枪贩时如是说。
Two guns used in killings of New York City police officers were traced to pawnshops in Georgia.
The economics are straightforward: A low-quality handgun that sells for $100 in an Atlanta store might sell for $500 or $600 in New York City, researchers say - and it can be transported cheaply. By contrast, the majority of guns used in crimes in Texas, Georgia and other states with more lenient gun laws are purchased in-state.
枪支贩卖背后的利益链十分清晰：一把在亚特兰大售价 100 美元的普通手枪，通过廉价方式运抵纽约后，可以卖到 500 到 600 美元。相反，在德克萨斯、乔治亚和其他枪支监管较为宽松的州，大部分涉案枪支都是在州内购买的。
The New York Times examined gun trafficking by analyzing nine years of data compiled by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, as well as an index of state gun laws developed by researchers at Johns Hopkins University.
美国烟酒、枪炮及爆裂物管理局统计了九年的枪支数据，约翰霍普金斯大学也有关于各州枪支法律的研究。纽约时报分析了这些数据，对枪支贩卖进行了深入研究。
Law enforcement officials express frequent frustration that they are not able to track every gun that crosses state lines, which means the estimates here are conservative. When the police do recover a gun tied to criminal activity, typically after an arrest, they can trace the gun to where it was last sold through a federally licensed dealer.
本文的各种估算偏于保守，因为执法人员无法追查所有跨州枪支的流动；这一现状令他们感到沮丧。通常，在逮捕嫌犯、查获涉案枪支后，执法人员可以追查到枪支最后是在哪个联邦授权经销商处销售的。
Chicago offers perhaps the starkest example of trafficking. There are no retail gun dealers within city limits, because Chicago has some of the tightest municipal gun regulations. Yet bringing a gun into Chicago can be as simple as driving less than an hour to a gun show in Indiana, where private sales are not recorded and do not require a background check.
芝加哥也许是全美枪支贩卖最泛滥的地区。该市有着全美最严格的枪支管理条例，因此在市内没有一家枪支商店。然而，在相邻的印第安纳州，政府不要求登记私有枪支购买人，亦不需要任何背景核查。因此，人们只需驱车一小时到达印第安纳州，就能轻轻松松买枪，再带回芝加哥。
"If you're in the city of Chicago on the South Side, you may be closer to Indiana than you are to the Magnificent Mile," said Roseanna Ander, executive director of the University of Chicago Crime Lab, referring to a well-known part of Chicago's downtown.
“芝加哥市南部的居民，到印第安纳州可能比到市中心著名景点 Magnificent Mile 的距离更近。”芝加哥大学犯罪实验室的 Roseanne Ander 如是说。
Chicago offers perhaps the starkest example of trafficking.
Many guns follow a complex path from the original sale to the underground market. Most guns are originally bought from retail stores, but people who can't pass a background check typically obtain guns from friends, family or illegal dealers.
枪支从原销售地到地下黑市的流通过程十分复杂。其中，多数枪支是从原销售地的零售店直接购买的；未能通过背景核查的买手通常从亲戚朋友、或是非法商家处获得枪支。
According to an anonymous survey of inmates in Cook County, Ill., covering 135 guns they had access to, only two had been purchased directly from a gun store. Many inmates reported obtaining guns from friends who had bought them legally and then reported them stolen, or from locals who had brought the guns from out of state.
伊利诺伊州库克县对在押囚犯进行了一次匿名调查，追踪了 135 把手枪的来源。调查显示，只有两把手枪是直接从商店合法购买的。多名囚犯表示，他们的朋友合法购枪后，他们就从朋友那里要来这些手枪，随后向管理部门登记挂失。有些囚犯则是从当地人手中购买从外州带回来的手枪。
One inmate said, "Some people get on a train and bring them back, can be up to five or six guns, depending on how much risk they want to take."
一名囚犯说：“有些买手乘火车穿梭于州内州外，一次最多能带回来五六把手枪，就看他们想冒多大风险了。”
Some larger traffickers use more elaborate techniques. Buying a gun in Puerto Rico requires an expensive permit and a lengthy application process, but Florida has no such restrictions. Traffickers in Orlando tied to organized gangs in Puerto Rico send guns in the mail, through FedEx, or even encased in cars that travel by ship to the island.
一些大型枪贩有着更加复杂的手段。在美属波多黎各，购枪需要支付不菲的费用来购买许可，并且申请过程极为漫长；距离这里最近的佛罗里达州，则没有这些繁文缛节。因此，位于佛罗里达州奥兰多的枪贩们，通过邮件、快递，甚至是汽车轮渡的方式，将枪支运抵波多黎各的犯罪团伙。
"They'll buy a $500 car and stuff it with as many guns as possible," said Carlos Gonzalez, an agent with the Miami division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
“他们花 500 美元买一辆廉价汽车，在其中塞满手枪，（再通过轮渡运抵波多黎各。）”烟酒、枪炮及爆裂物管理局迈阿密分局的特工 Carlos Gonzalez 说。
Buying a gun in Puerto Rico requires an expensive permit and a lengthy application process, but Florida has no such restrictions.
Federal agents and postal inspectors have caught some traffickers, leading to modified techniques, such as shipping guns in newer, more expensive cars or mailing guns from Jacksonville, Fla., instead of Orlando. Stopping such smuggling is logistically hard. "If the U.S. Postal Service were to screen every single package that entered into Puerto Rico, it would bring the economy to a halt," Mr. Gonzalez said.
近年来，联邦特工和邮政检查员根据这一犯罪模式，成功抓获了一些枪贩；枪贩们便升级手段以躲避检查。例如，改用更新、更贵的汽车；或者，改从佛罗里达州杰克逊维尔寄出枪支。从物流角度看，彻底打击枪支贩卖十分困难。“如果美国邮政对寄往波多黎各的每个包裹进行检查，那将对当地经济造成极大影响。”特工 Gonzalez 表示。
Most gun trafficking patterns have remained remarkably constant over time. But some researchers point to a significant shift in Missouri as evidence that changes to one state's laws can have broad implications.
长久以来，大多数枪支贩卖有着固定的模式。但一些研究者指出，州法的变化，能够带来广泛而明显的影响，正如密苏里州所发生的那样。
Before 2007, Missouri required gun buyers to get a state permit and to undergo background checks on private sales, two restrictions strongly associated with states that provide fewer guns to interstate traffickers, according to research by Daniel Webster, director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Policy and Research. At the time, nearly half of the guns used in crimes and recovered in Missouri were traced to other states, largely from neighboring Kansas and Illinois.
在 2007 年之前，密苏里州法律规定，购枪者必须获得许可、通过背景核查，才能合法购买私有枪支。约翰霍普金斯大学枪支政策与研究中心的负责人 Daniel Webster 表示，密苏里州的这两项规定与其他一些州的法律相似，有效遏制了跨州枪贩从这些州内收购枪支。在那时，密苏里州所有涉案枪支中，近半数来自其他州，主要是相邻的堪萨斯州和伊利诺伊州。
But when Missouri relaxed its gun control laws in 2007, the flow started to change. The number of guns traced to other states decreased, while the number of guns from within Missouri increased to nearly three-quarters.
然而，在 2007 年密苏里州放宽了枪支管制法律后，形势开始转变。所有涉案枪支中，来自他州的数量逐渐减少，来自州内的数量逐渐接近四分之三。
The number of guns from within Missouri increased to nearly three-quarters.
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