By Gregor Aisch and Josh Keller from The New York Times
Nov. 13, 2015
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.
在加利福尼亞州，一些槍販使用聯邦快遞郵寄槍支。在芝加哥，槍販們只需駕車到旁邊的印第安納州買上一支槍，再開車返回芝加哥進行售賣。在佛羅里達州的奧蘭多，長久以來，槍販們在價值 500 美元的廉價汽車中塞滿槍支，將汽車海運到波多黎各，再賣給當地的犯罪團伙。
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.
過去幾年，美國各地發生了大規模槍擊事件。作為回應，全國有超過 20 個州（包括全國最大的幾個州）已經通過了新法律，旨在限制民眾購槍、持槍。然而，有一個龐大的地下黑市，專門從監管寬松的州購買槍支，并銷售到監管嚴格的州。這個地下黑市對限槍法律造成了巨大沖擊。
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.
聯邦有關數據顯示，每年約有 5 萬把手槍跨州流通到各地犯罪分子手中；更多此類槍支由于種種原因而未被統計。
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.
紐約和新澤西兩州擁有全美最嚴格的限槍法律。在 2014 年，這兩州的犯罪活動中，超過三分之二的涉案槍支來源于外州。許多槍支從監管較弱的南部各州（如弗吉尼亞、喬治亞和佛羅里達）一路向北，通過 95 號州際高速公路及其支路，抵達紐約和新澤西。這條流通路線被稱為“ 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，兩名布魯克林區警官被殺，涉案槍支來自亞特蘭大南部一家當鋪。在五月，一名皇后區警官被殺，涉案槍支同樣來自喬治亞州一家街邊當鋪，距離亞特蘭大約 100 英里。上月，東哈萊姆區一名警官被殺，涉案槍支來自南卡羅來納州。
"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.
“我們正在全力以赴，但是槍支仍然不斷涌入。在缺乏國家及地方監管的前提下，我們無法阻止這一現狀。”上周，紐約市警務處長 William J. Bratton 在宣告起訴槍販時如是說。
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.
槍支販賣背后的利益鏈十分清晰：一把在亞特蘭大售價 100 美元的普通手槍，通過廉價方式運抵紐約后，可以賣到 500 到 600 美元。相反，在德克薩斯、喬治亞和其他槍支監管較為寬松的州，大部分涉案槍支都是在州內購買的。
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.
美國煙酒、槍炮及爆裂物管理局統計了九年的槍支數據，約翰霍普金斯大學也有關于各州槍支法律的研究。紐約時報分析了這些數據，對槍支販賣進行了深入研究。
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.
本文的各種估算偏于保守，因為執法人員無法追查所有跨州槍支的流動；這一現狀令他們感到沮喪。通常，在逮捕嫌犯、查獲涉案槍支后，執法人員可以追查到槍支最后是在哪個聯邦授權經銷商處銷售的。
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.
芝加哥也許是全美槍支販賣最泛濫的地區。該市有著全美最嚴格的槍支管理條例，因此在市內沒有一家槍支商店。然而，在相鄰的印第安納州，政府不要求登記私有槍支購買人，亦不需要任何背景核查。因此，人們只需驅車一小時到達印第安納州，就能輕輕松松買槍，再帶回芝加哥。
"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，到印第安納州可能比到市中心著名景點 Magnificent Mile 的距離更近。”芝加哥大學犯罪實驗室的 Roseanne Ander 如是說。
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.
槍支從原銷售地到地下黑市的流通過程十分復雜。其中，多數槍支是從原銷售地的零售店直接購買的；未能通過背景核查的買手通常從親戚朋友、或是非法商家處獲得槍支。
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.
伊利諾伊州庫克縣對在押囚犯進行了一次匿名調查，追蹤了 135 把手槍的來源。調查顯示，只有兩把手槍是直接從商店合法購買的。多名囚犯表示，他們的朋友合法購槍后，他們就從朋友那里要來這些手槍，隨后向管理部門登記掛失。有些囚犯則是從當地人手中購買從外州帶回來的手槍。
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."
一名囚犯說：“有些買手乘火車穿梭于州內州外，一次最多能帶回來五六把手槍，就看他們想冒多大風險了。”
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.
一些大型槍販有著更加復雜的手段。在美屬波多黎各，購槍需要支付不菲的費用來購買許可，并且申請過程極為漫長；距離這里最近的佛羅里達州，則沒有這些繁文縟節。因此，位于佛羅里達州奧蘭多的槍販們，通過郵件、快遞，甚至是汽車輪渡的方式，將槍支運抵波多黎各的犯罪團伙。
"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.
“他們花 500 美元買一輛廉價汽車，在其中塞滿手槍，（再通過輪渡運抵波多黎各。）”煙酒、槍炮及爆裂物管理局邁阿密分局的特工 Carlos Gonzalez 說。
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.
近年來，聯邦特工和郵政檢查員根據這一犯罪模式，成功抓獲了一些槍販；槍販們便升級手段以躲避檢查。例如，改用更新、更貴的汽車；或者，改從佛羅里達州杰克遜維爾寄出槍支。從物流角度看，徹底打擊槍支販賣十分困難。“如果美國郵政對寄往波多黎各的每個包裹進行檢查，那將對當地經濟造成極大影響。”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.
長久以來，大多數槍支販賣有著固定的模式。但一些研究者指出，州法的變化，能夠帶來廣泛而明顯的影響，正如密蘇里州所發生的那樣。
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，密蘇里州法律規定，購槍者必須獲得許可、通過背景核查，才能合法購買私有槍支。約翰霍普金斯大學槍支政策與研究中心的負責人 Daniel Webster 表示，密蘇里州的這兩項規定與其他一些州的法律相似，有效遏制了跨州槍販從這些州內收購槍支。在那時，密蘇里州所有涉案槍支中，近半數來自其他州，主要是相鄰的堪薩斯州和伊利諾伊州。
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 年密蘇里州放寬了槍支管制法律后，形勢開始轉變。所有涉案槍支中，來自他州的數量逐漸減少，來自州內的數量逐漸接近四分之三。
