我在乔治亚州的实弹射击

My gun shooting experience in Georgia

Nancy Jin

砰，砰，砰！走进开枪射击场的霎那间，枪击声便在我耳边回响。此次射击习武是我近期到亚特兰大佐治亚州的旅游期间的一个“重点项目”。对从未摸过枪支的我来说，即将开始的实弹射击令我兴奋之余感到紧张，焦虑。在我们华裔文化传统中，可叫你大脑立即开花的枪可谓陌生而遥远，而对于向我这样的加国移民妇女来说枪，则更具威慑力。

Bang, bang, bang! Gun shots blasted my ears as I walked into a shooting range in search of a real shooting experience. It was on the agenda of my recent visit to Atlanta Georgia. Never ever touched a gun before, I was excited about the prospects of shooting using a real gun, but also a bit nervous and anxious. Gun – a weapon designed for the express purpose to kill – seemed very intimidating to a Chinese Canadian woman like me -- who was brought up in a culture that guns are distant and remote.

可眼前，从手枪到AK步枪和冲锋枪的各类枪支出现在射击场的狭小的办公室中。从办公室的墙壁，到玻璃柜台甚至各个教练员的腰间，枪好像是普通而常见的物品，到处可见。

But now various types of guns – from pistols to AK rifles -- appeared everywhere in the small registration office of the shooting range. A whole assortment was hung up on the walls, displayed inside glass counters, and was on the waist of each and every training officer.

一位女教官很热情的招待了我。在向我介绍完射击场提供的各种训练课程后，女教官强调女性学员在射击场非常受欢迎，并且当天可提供免费的训练时间。

A female officer greeted me warmly.  After a short briefing, she stressed that women were very welcome to the range to practise shooting and were offered free range time on the day.

“我们鼓励女性学员练习持枪射击，因为这是她们练习自我保护的的一个重要方式和手段。”

“We encourage women to practise gun shooting, as it is an important way for women to learn how to protect themselves.”

她的话立刻让我颇感意外。对于大半生是在北京和多伦多度过的我来说，这种“自我保护策略”听起来有点震惊。

Her words instantly perked up my ears.  As an immigrant from China who spent most of her life between Beijing and Toronto, this type of “self-protecting strategy” sounded a bit shocking.

但我却不是完全不理解她这番话的来由。在我一页页地翻过射击场提供的培训课程手册的同时，一些关于美国枪支文化，特别是美国南部的枪支文化出现在我的脑海里。

But I wasn’t completely naive of where she was coming from. As I sifted through the training brochure provided by the range, some primitive knowledge about the gun culture, particularly in the southern part of the US came to mind.

在乔治亚州，枪支仅仅是普通商品，并且在任何枪店或体育用品商店可以很轻易买到。弹药在任何沃尔玛商店就像卖瓶装水一样出售。几乎100 ％在乔治亚州的家庭备有枪支作为自卫武器。关于在某种特定情况下你向家庭入侵者开枪是否属于正当防犯这样的话题频频出现在电台谈话节目和电视节目上。

In Georgia, guns are common commodities, and can be easily purchased at any gun shop or sporting goods store.  Boxes of ammunitions are sold at Walmart in a similar way as bottles of water. Almost 100% of households in Georgia have a gun in their home as a self-defence weapon. Discussions on topics of whether self-defence arguments are applicable in a specific incident after you fired a shot at a home intruder frequently appear on radio talk shows and TV programs.

 一个当地朋友对我说了这样一句话：“你是最好是遭到12个人审判，而不是被6个人抬出”。这句话的意思是说，着当你的生命受到威胁时，你最好开枪拯救自己的生命然后面对12名陪审员，而不是被打死，然后被6个救护人员用担架抬出。

 “You are better off being judged by 12 than carried out by 6” a local friend told me. It means that when your life is threatened, you’d better fire the shots to save your own life and then face 12 jurors, than being killed and carried out by 6 paramedics on a stretcher.  

乔治亚州尤其希望华裔社区能够通过拥有枪支来保护自己。很少拥有武器华裔人士大都会被认为是手无寸铁，因此会在公众场合遭人欺负，或成为冤大头。很显然，他们可以通过装备枪支改变这一公众看法，还可以更好的保护自己。

The Chinese community in Georgia is particularly encouraged to protect themselves by owning a gun. Being less armed than the local average, they are more likely to be perceived as defenceless, or being bullied or taken advantage of. Apparently, they can change the perception and better protect themselves by having a gun at home.

然而，枪支的广泛使用令美国暴力事件不断上升，引起人们对人身安全的担忧。枪支持有人数的增加，致使如纽顿和科罗拉多州的枪击事件数量迅速上升。在美国的12 恶性枪击暴力事件中，有6起发生在以往6年之中。

However, the prevalent use of guns in the US has caused a growing concern over violence. As the number of gun holders increases, incidents such as the Newton and Colorado shootings are rapidly rising, with 6 of the 12 deadliest mass shootings committed within the last 6 years.

而这正是奥巴马之所以发动了枪支管制行动的原因所在。毫无疑问，该提案在枪支文化根深蒂固的诸如乔治亚州的许多南部地区面临着巨大的挑战和阻力。

And that is where Obama’s gun control campaign kicks in. But it is unsurprising that the proposal faces big challenges and encounters significant resistance as the gun culture has found its deep roots in many southern states such as Georgia.

在简短的培训课上，教管向我们介绍了这里的第一个也是最重要的一条规定，即每把枪都上了膛。

I was briefed on the first and the most important rule on the range:  Every Gun Is Loaded.

教管如此解释说：“这是说每把枪被认为是上膛了，而不管枪支里是否存在子弹”。

“This is to say that every gun is perceived as loaded, regardless of whether there are bullets in it or not,” explained the training staff.

此外，当枪被送回到工作人员时，必须让枪露出其空弹壳，这样工作人员才能确认该枪中没有子弹。

Also, when the gun is returned to the staff, it must be carried in a way that empty chamber is exposed, to reassure the officer that this gun has no bullet in it.

“如果你持有一支没有露出空弹匣的枪，我会认为该枪是上了膛的，这会让我感到很恐怖。”他补充说。

“If you hold a gun without showing me the empty chamber, I would assume that the gun is loaded, and it makes me real nervous,” he added.

他的话中露出的恐怖气氛令我一下子不知所措。一把上了膛的真枪的形象出现在我眼前，我脱口问了一个幼稚而可笑的问题：“它真的能杀人吗？”

A pause ensued as I was absorbing the sense of terror implicated in his words. Caught in the twilight of a live gun, I idiotically asked, ‘can it kill?’

经过简短的培训之后，我便允许持枪射击。我被建议用22口径手枪开始试射，手枪中一次可以装填十发子弹。在了解了包括从如何上膛，如何瞄准，如何扣动扳机的基础知识之后，我们被带到射击位。

A brief training session had started before I was allowed to grab a gun to shoot. I was advised to start with a 22-calibre pistol that can have 10 bullets being loaded into a chamber at a time. After learning the shooting basics – from reloading, to stance, and even pulling the trigger, we were sent to the shooting booth.

我将枪笔直的握在自己前方，瞄准五米开外的目标 --  一个上半身的图像靶子。我对着想象之中的入室之敌连续开了十枪，开枪的双手因为的兴奋而颤抖不已。

I hold the gun straight before me, aiming at the target – a picture of human upper body, 5 meters away. I fired a consecutive 10 shots at the perceived intruder, hands trembling as thrills of excitement of shooting washed over me.

“还不错！”教官评论说。把靶子拉近一看，我得到了平均66点，远低于与我一起射击的其他射击者。

“Not bad!” the instructor appraised. Pulling the target closer, I scored an average 66 points, far below my colleagues.

教官说：“别灰心！大部分人在第一次射击时都无法击中靶子！”

“Don’t sweat it, a lot of people were unable to hit the target at all at the first time of shooting,” said the instructor.

虽然我经历了真正的实弹射击，但却不敢说对开枪有了更多信心。我是否能将家中入侵者吓跑？很难说。

I wasn’t any more confident about shooting a real gun, but I had done it. With this experience, I am doubtful that I would be able to scare a home intruder off.

但你不会想跟我比试比试吧！

But you wouldn’t want to test me!