First-Grade Firepower

Flowers, candles and teddy bears lean against the doorway of a Michigan school, a silent, aching shrine to yet another child killed by gunfire on campus. Will nothing, not even this murder of a 6-year-old by another 6-year-old, shock us into action?

In this case, the first-grade shooter is so young he may not even understand that his classmate, Kayla Rolland, is dead. Forever.

Guns don’t kill people, people do, right? But what about a person so young, so neglected and living in such a dysfunctional household that he could find a loaded handgun under some blankets and take it to settle a score at school?

Kayla Rolland’s murder Tuesday in a Michigan school was followed in short order by a shooting rampage near Pittsburgh by a man reportedly upset with repairs to his apartment. The suspect, Ronald Taylor, fatally shot three people Wednesday and critically wounded two others. With no known criminal history, Taylor may have been legally entitled to his gun. The reality is that our gun laws are utterly inadequate.

No single new proposal will end all the violence. But each handgun taken off the streets or locked up in the home is an added margin of safety.

Trigger locks? Great idea. They should be required on every handgun sold. License gun owners? Another good idea. Make sure gun owners are trained to safely handle their weapons. Ban cheap handguns, bar gun dealers from doing business in residential neighborhoods, subject all handgun purchasers to a meaningful background check. Do all of it.

We don’t kid ourselves: No law can protect a child living with guns and crack cocaine in a crime-ridden flophouse, like the 6-year-old shooter. No law can predict when an otherwise law-abiding man will go berserk. But adopting strict laws is what must be done. Now. That no law will stop all the killing and maiming has for far too long constituted an excuse for inaction by congressional members who wring their hands and babble about the right to bear arms. The alternative is more flowers, more teddy bears, more tears.