Advertise a special number parents can call if they want, but actively going to homes and flashing a badge can lead to abuse, because people are prone to make decisions based on fear of authority and not knowing the law rather than a informed, rational decision. The police know this.
The article gives away the fact that drugs will not be ignored. Nor will anything else, mind you. "Do you have any guns in the home, Mr./Mrs. ____________? Are they properly stored? Mind if we check while we're here?"
I'm against putting people in a position that by saying "no" to a search, the police officer can assume in any way that there's guilt. That's why I don't like sobriety checkpoints -- if you don't have time to wait in line and you turn around, you're presumed guilty until proven innocent.
What does a sobriety checkpoint have to do with this? Baby steps, that's all I have to say.
"If not under the your direct control, or under the direct control of some other person with the proper FID or LTC, all guns must be stored in a locked container or equipped with a tamper resistant mechanical lock or other safety device, properly engaged so as to render the gun inoperable by the owner or other lawfully authorized user. The penalty for each violation of this law can be severe: up to $10,000 in fines and ten years imprisonment in state prison, and revocation of your LTC or FID."
But, these gangbangers, most under 21, will skate on possession and storage charges, no LTC, possession of ammo, according to the cops. the goal is to "get guns off the street", but leave the bad people right where they are, all now with a new grudge.
They see guns as having magical powers, the evil is inherent in the gun and not in the mind of the person who would shoot another.