In little Noah’s honor, sensible gun legislation

A second proposed statute would establish a standard for securing firearms. Someone who has “reasonable cause to believe” that he has made a gun accessible to a person who is mentally ill and considered dangerous, or otherwise poses a grave and imminent danger to others, would be guilty of a misdemeanor, and maybe even a felony, if that dangerous person gets the gun.

Noah Pozner’s family also proposes that the government fund school-security reviews and upgrades, and augment emergency grief counseling. (From the memo: “After Noah’s death, family members underwent an initial extended and horrible period without any mental health assistance.”) The family credits lockdown procedures for saving Noah’s sisters, and urges schools to do mandatory lockdown drills. …

The proposals don’t restrict the rights of responsible gun owners, and they aren’t attacks on gun culture. Instead, they seek to strengthen norms — like the norm that firearms should be secured — that are already present in that culture. So they are more politically viable than most gun-control proposals, and more likely to achieve practical success, as well.

At the same time, they don’t follow the template of the National Rifle Association. They don’t assume, that is, that the only solution to the problems caused by bad people with guns is good people with guns.