The unrest started over a week ago after the killing of George Floyd, a black man. He died a short time after he was detained by police in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
这次动乱是从一周前黑人男子乔治·弗洛伊德被杀之后开始的。他被明尼苏达州明尼阿波利斯警察拘捕后不久就死了。
People in Minneapolis and other U.S. cities have been protesting Floyd's death. Some of the protests were peaceful, but others were not. Demonstrators attacked businesses, set fire to buildings, and burned cars.
明尼阿波利斯和其它美国城市的人们一直在抗议弗洛伊德之死。有些抗议是和平进行的，有些则不是。示威者袭击店铺，向建筑物纵火以及烧毁汽车。
Speaking from the White House, President Donald Trump proposed using military troops to stop the violence. He said, "If a city or state refuses to take the actions that are necessary to defend the life and property of their residents, then I will deploy the United States military and quickly solve the problem for them."
川普总统在白宫发表讲话时提出动用军队制止暴力。他说：“如果一个城市或州拒绝采取必要行动捍卫本地居民的生命财产，那么我将部署军队，替他们迅速解决问题。”
Several state governors quickly rejected Trump's proposal. The governor of Oregon, Kate Brown, said, "You don't defuse violence by putting soldiers on the streets." In Illinois, Governor J.B. Pritzker said he does not believe the federal government can send troops into his state. And New York's governor, Andrew Cuomo, added, "I say thank you but no thank you."
几位州长很快拒绝了川普的提议。俄勒冈州州长凯特·布朗表示：“把士兵派到街上没法缓解暴力。”伊利诺伊州州长J.B. 普里兹克表示，他不认为联邦政府可以派兵进入他的州。纽约州州长安德鲁·库莫也说：“我谢谢您嘞，用不着。”
All three governors are members of the Democratic Party. Trump belongs to the Republican Party.
这三位州长都是民主党人。川普属于共和党。
To deploy military troops, the president would need to invoke legislation known as the Insurrection Act.
为了部署军队，川普需要援引《暴动法案》。
What is the Insurrection Act?
什么是《暴动法案》？
Under the U.S. Constitution, governors generally have the power to maintain order within state borders. The constitution bars the armed forces from law enforcement within the country.
根据美国宪法，州长通常有权在本州境内维持秩序。宪法禁止武装部队在国内执法。
The Insurrection Act of 1807, however, gives the president power to send troops to the states "in all cases of insurrection, or obstruction to the laws." The law has since been amended several times.
然而，1807年的《暴动法案》赋予总统“在暴动或者法律受到阻挠的情况下”向各州派遣联邦军队的权力。该法案此后已经经过多次修订。
In a 2006 report, the U.S. Congressional Research Service said the president is required to have approval from a state's governor or legislature to send in federal troops. But the report also noted that "the President may issue an executive order to send in troops."
美国国会研究处在2006年的一份报告中表示，总统必须获得州长或议会的批准才能派遣联邦军队。但是该报告也指出，“总统可以发布行政命令来派遣军队。”
Presidents have invoked the Insurrection Act several times in U.S. history.
美国总统在历史上多次援引了《暴动法案》。
In 1957, President Dwight Eisenhower approved an executive order to put the Arkansas National Guard under the U.S. military. As part of the order, he sent 1,000 Army troops to Little Rock, Arkansas. The move, over the objection of the state's governor, was to protect black students at an all-white high school.
1957年，艾森豪威尔总统通过了一项行政命令，将阿肯色国民警卫队置于美国军队的领导之下。作为该命令的一部分，他向阿肯色州的小石头城派遣了1000名陆军士兵。此举是针对该州州长的异议，目的是为了保护一所白人高中的黑人学生。
The Congressional Research Service said the use of the Insurrection Act "has become exceedingly rare" since the end of civil rights protests in the 1960s.
国会研究处表示，自上世纪60年代民权抗议活动结束以来，使用《暴动法案》“已经变得极为罕见。”
The act was last used in 1992. That was the year when racial protests in Los Angeles turned violent. The unrest started when a court found four police officers – all of them white -- not guilty in the beating of a black man, Rodney King.
上一次使用该法案是在1992年。那年洛杉矶的种族抗议演变成了暴力。这次暴乱始于法院判决四名白人警员殴打黑人罗德尼·金无罪。
Thaddeus Hoffmeister is a law professor at the University of Dayton. He told the Reuters news agency that when the Insurrection Act was invoked in the past, presidents and governors have usually agreed on the need for troops.
赛迪斯·霍夫梅斯特是代顿大学的法学教授。他对路透社表示，过去援引《暴动法案》时，总统和州长通常都同意需要派兵。
In 2005, then President George W. Bush decided not to use the act to send troops to Louisiana after flooding resulting from Hurricane Katrina. The state's then-governor opposed the move.
2005年，时任布什总统决定在卡特里娜飓风造成洪水泛滥后，不使用该法案派遣部队前往路易斯安娜。该州时任州长反对此举。
Hoffmeister said he did not think invoking the Insurrection Act was needed now because governors can take action through their criminal justice systems.
霍夫迈斯特表示，他认为现在不需要援引《暴动法案》，因为州长可以通过其刑事司法体系采取行动。