by William Greider

About the author: William Greider, political editor for Rolling Stone, is the author of One World, Ready or Not: The Manic Logic of Global Capitalism.

While talk shows and right-wing preachers obsess about the moral depravity of youth culture, the usual political adversaries line up for yet another long- running congressional struggle over various gun-control measures. The National Rifle Association knows that people are upset by the spectacle of gun-toting students and hopes to soften its image with Charlton Heston as its president.

Meanwhile, Handgun Control Inc., the leading advocacy group of reformers, unveils a grab bag of modest legislative ideas for reducing the bloodshed, such as mandatory trigger locks for handguns and criminal liability for careless parents who let their weapons turn small children into accidental killers.

HCI’s various proposals...