With Newtown, the American people seem to sense that it is a moment to stand down and think hard about whether something's amiss in their society. And it's not just the guns. We have been here before.

In 1993, the U.S. reacted with national shock at the murder of abortion-clinic doctor David Gunn. President Bill Clinton condemned the Gunn killing, and Sen. Joe Biden called for legislative remedies. The Journal's editorial-page editor then, Bob Bartley, asked me to write an editorial, and the result was "No Guardrails."

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