After all, I’d just written a piece that was gently critical of America, and Free Press readers are a patriotic bunch; of course you leapt to your country’s defense. It was from my friend and colleague Larissa Phillips, who I’ve edited since she joined The Free Press two years ago—and who happened to be perfectly placed to answer my appeal: “Help me understand.” At a velocity of about 800 mph, the bullet shot down the barrel of the gun in my hand and seemed to instantaneously punch through the target. When I grew up and became a parent myself, I was haunted by the specter of school shootings, like the Columbine High School massacre in Colorado. Can we hold gun manufacturers liable for gunshot deaths?