爱达荷州和马萨诸塞州的选民面临着截然不同的与枪支相关的投票议题，这些议题凸显了美国全国范围内关于枪支自由与限制之间的矛盾与紧张关系。
Voters in Idaho and Massachusetts face contrasting gun-related ballot questions that highlight the national tension between firearm freedoms and restrictions.
爱达荷州：尼尔·古德费洛（Neil Goodfellow）正驾驶卡车行驶在爱达荷州的一条乡村公路上，准备去猎麋鹿。途中，他思考着一个将在11月投票中出现的议题：从六种历史悠久的枪支中选择哪一种作为该州的官方“州枪”。最终，他决定投票支持M1加兰德步枪（M1 Garand）——这种半自动步枪在二战期间被美国军队广泛使用。
DAVID A. LIEB Parked in his truck along a rural Idaho highway on his way to an elk hunt, Neill Goodfellow pondered a question that will appear on his November ballot: which of six historic firearms to choose as the official state gun?
马萨诸塞州：马萨诸塞州的选民则正在讨论一个完全不同的议题：是否继续执行2024年颁布的法律，该法律要求所有枪支都必须进行序列化登记，并进一步加强对“攻击性武器”的禁令。
Goodfellow is going to vote for the M1 Garand, a semiautomatic rifle widely carried by U.S. troops in World War II.
爱达荷州与马萨诸塞州相距约2000英里（3200公里），无论是在地理上还是象征意义上，这两个州在美国的枪支政策辩论中都代表了截然不同的立场。11月的选举虽然无法彻底解决枪支自由与限制之间的矛盾，但这些投票议题将有助于反映公众的意见。
In Massachusetts, voters are deciding a vastly different ballot question — whether to uphold a 2024 law requiring all firearms to be serialized and registered with the state and broadening a ban on “assault-style” guns.
如果选民通过这项法律（即“马萨诸塞州第9号议题”），该州将继续实施一系列由民主党主导的枪支限制措施。该州是美国枪支拥有率最低的州之一；这些限制措施之所以能够提出，是因为反对者收集了足够的签名，迫使政府举行全民公投。
Massachusetts and Idaho are about 2,000 miles (3,200 kilometers) apart — literally and figuratively — in America’s gun debate The November election won’t settle the tension between firearm freedoms and restrictions but the ballot questions will provide a gauge of public opinion.
在爱达荷州博伊西，由共和党主导的州议会在选票上设置了一个无约束力的问题，征询选民关于指定“爱达荷州州枪”的意见。根据兰德公司“美国枪支政策”项目的估算，约五分之三的爱达荷州成年人生活在拥有枪支的家庭中，这一比例在全美名列前茅。
Should voters approve it, Massachusetts Question 9 will continue an array of gun restrictions passed overwhelmingly by the Democratic-led Legislature in a state with one of the nation’s lowest gun ownership rates. The question is going to voters because opponents gathered petition signatures forcing a referendum.
马萨诸塞州枪支拥有者面临登记截止日期 马萨诸塞州居民面临周三向州政府登记其枪支的截止日期。关于废除该要求的公投将在六天后举行。这一先后顺序令一些枪支拥有者感到沮丧。
In Boise, the Republican-led Legislature placed a nonbinding question on the ballot seeking voters’ advice on designating “the state gun of Idaho.”About 3 in 5 Idaho adults live in households with guns, which ranks among the highest rates nationally, according to an estimate from the RAND Gun Policy in America initiative. Some Republican lawmakers hope the ballot question will encourage more people to vote Massachusetts gun owners face a registry deadline Residents in Massachusetts face a Wednesday deadline to their firearms with the state. The referendum on whether to repeal that requirement happens six days later. That sequence has frustrated some gun owners.
“在人们有机会对此投票之前就要求他们这样做，完全侵犯了人们的权利，”公民权利联盟主席托比·利里说，该组织成立的目的是领导废除枪支法律的努力。
“It’s a total violation of people’s rights to require this before they have their chance to vote on it,” said Toby Leary, chair of The Civil Rights Coalition, a group formed to lead the effort to repeal the gun law.
通常情况下，当提交公投请愿书时，法律会被搁置，直到举行选举。但民主党籍州长莫拉·希利签署了一项紧急条款，使该枪支法律于2024年立即生效——比公投提前了两年。
Normally, when a referendum petition is submitted, a law is placed on hold until an election can occur. But Democratic Gov. Maura Healey signed an emergency provision making the gun law take effect immediately in 2024 — two years ahead of the referendum.
支持者吹捧该措施是十年来该州枪支法律最全面的一次更新。除了建立州枪支登记制度外，它还禁止缺少序列号的“幽灵枪”以及可将枪支改装为速射的装置，并扩大了对突击型武器的禁令。它还扩展了“红旗法”，将医疗服务提供者和学校管理人员纳入可请求法院暂时收缴对自己或他人构成风险人员枪支的人员名单。
Advocates tout the measure as the most comprehensive update in a decade to the state’s firearms laws. In addition to establishing a state firearm registry, it bars“ghost guns” that lack serial numbers and devices that convert guns to fire rapidly and expands a ban on assault-style weapons It also broadens a “red flag” law to add healthcare providers and school administrators to the list of those who can ask courts to temporarily remove guns from people who pose a risk to themselves or others.
“该立法既保留了合法拥枪途径，又设立了护栏以保障民众安全，”支持该枪支法律的竞选委员会主席、马萨诸塞州防止枪支暴力联盟首席执行官露丝·扎卡林说。
“This legislation both preserves a legal pathway to gun ownership while also putting guardrails in place that keep people safe,” said Ruth Zakarin, who chairs the campaign committee backing the gun law and is CEO of the Massachusetts Coalition to Prevent Gun Violence.
很少有州建立广泛的枪支登记制度。一项已有40年历史的联邦法律禁止美国政府建立全国性的枪支或枪主登记册。但一些州采取了自己的要求。
Few states have wide-ranging gun registries A 40-year-old federal law prohibits the U.S. government from establishing a national registry of firearms or their owners. But some states have adopted their own requirements.
马萨诸塞州是继夏威夷州和哥伦比亚特区之后，第三个颁布全面枪支登记制度的司法管辖区。根据防止枪支暴力吉福德法律中心的数据，另有六个州要求登记部分枪支，如手枪或被定义为攻击性武器的枪支。
Massachusetts was the third jurisdiction, behind Hawaii and the District of Columbia, to enact a comprehensive gun registry. Six additional states require registration of some firearms, such as handguns or those defined as assault weapons, according to the Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence.
“这些法律有助于执法部门破案、追踪被盗和走私枪支，”该中心政策主任林赛·尼科尔斯说。“它们还能阻止非法枪支交易，并通过在执法人员响应事件时提供可能存在的枪支信息来保护执法人员。”但利里表示，建立政府枪主数据库也可能让人面临风险，如果信息被黑客攻击并泄露。他说，掌握枪主地址的窃贼可能会监视他们的住所，等他们上班或度假外出时盗取他们的枪支。
“These laws help law enforcement solve crimes, track down stolen and trafficked guns,” said Lindsay Nichols, the center’s policy director. “They also discourage illegal gun sales, and they help protect law enforcement by providing them information about what guns might be present when they are responding to an incident.”But creating a government database of gun owners also could put people at risk, if the information is hacked and leaked, Leary said. Thieves possessing the addresses of gun owners could monitor their homes, waiting for them to leave for work or vacation to rob them of their firearms, he said.
“犯罪分子将确切知道谁有什么枪、住在哪里，”他说。“这是不法分子获取枪支的‘心愿清单’。”
“The criminal element will know exactly who has what, where they live,” he said. “It’s a wish list for nefarious actors for where they can go get guns.”
约有十几个州拥有官方州枪。犹他州和亚利桑那州是2011年最早采用官方州枪的两个州。犹他州立法者选择了白朗宁M1911手枪，该枪由犹他州本地人设计。亚利桑那州立法者选定了柯尔特单动式陆军左轮手枪，全美步枪协会将其描述为“美国西部的标志性枪支”。在提交给爱达荷州选民的六个选项中，“没有一个真正在爱达荷州历史上占有重要地位，”爱达荷州步枪与手枪协会董事会成员古德费洛说。“我怀疑很多人根本不知道该选哪一个，”他说。
About a dozen states have official firearms Utah and Arizona were the first states, in 2011, to adopt official state firearms. Utah lawmakers chose the Browning M1911 pistol, which was designed by a Utah native. Arizona lawmakers picked the Colt single-action Army revolver, described by the National Rifle Association as “an iconic firearm of the American West.”Of the six options presented to Idaho voters, “none of them really have a significant place in the history of Idaho,” said Goodfellow, a board member of the Idaho State Rifle & Pistol Association. “My suspicion is a lot of folks are not going to have a clue” which one to choose, he said.
然而，对某些人来说，枪支投票是一个有趣的辩论话题。爱达荷州众议院多数党领袖、共和党人杰森·蒙克斯表示，这主要是重点所在。他发起这项措施，旨在提高中期选举的投票率。
Yet for some people, the gun vote is a fun topic to debate. That’s primarily the point, said Idaho House Majority Leader Jason Monks, a Republican who sponsored the measure as a means of driving up voter turnout during the midterm elections.
该投票的时间安排是有意为之，旨在与美国建国250周年相吻合。
It’s timed intentionally to coincide with the nation’s 250th anniversary.
蒙克斯说：“在爱达荷州，没有什么比枪支更具爱国色彩了——以及枪支在帮助建立我们国家和开拓西部方面的重要性。”
“There’s not much more patriotic in Idaho than guns — and the importance of guns in helping to found our country and settle the West,” Monks said.
如果选举结果产生明确的赢家，爱达荷州议员很可能会在2027年会议期间审议一项法案，使得票最多的枪支成为官方指定枪支。蒙克斯表示，如果结果势均力敌，那可能太具争议性，议员们难以定夺。
If the election results in a clear winner, Idaho lawmakers likely will take up a bill during their 2027 session to make the preferred firearm official. If the results are evenly split, well, that might be too controversial for lawmakers to settle, Monks said.