ABOUT GUNMAKER ACCOUNTABILITY

When campus officials at Michigan State University began tweeting “Run, Hide, Fight” as guidance to students for how to handle a gunman actively shooting on campus earlier this week, they were essentially saying: Sorry, we are out of ideas.

This advice was not unique to Michigan, of course. Formulated by the Department of Homeland Security, it is widely disbursed. In Washington, even the tiny Shelton School District posts videos advocating the approach.

It may be practical in the moment. But “Run, Hide, Fight” is not an adequate response. It is a concession that the feds, at least, have nothing more concrete to offer on public safety.

Washington state gun policy, however, has been moving in a more constructive direction for nearly a decade. Since 2014, voter initiatives have pushed the Legislature to close background-check loopholes, institute red-flag laws and prohibit the sale of assault rifles to anyone under 21.

This session, gun responsibility advocates believe they are on the verge of bold new action that would hold the firearms industry accountable…

Senate Bill 5078, known as the “Justice for Victims of

Gun Violence” law, stakes out new territory. It would allow the state attorney general and private citizens to sue gun manufacturers, dealers or marketers for violating nuisance laws by marketing guns to minors, for instance, or knowingly selling to a “straw purchaser” who hands off firearms to people prohibited from possessing them…

With ever more citizens shattered by gun violence, and a majority of legislators endorsing new muscle in combating it, Washington is poised to model a major culture shift, rejecting the belief that there are no answers.