AP News recently reported that guns are being stolen from vehicles at three times the rate they were 10 years ago. This is absolutely ridiculous and 100% predictable. Anyone who steals a gun from a vehicle is a criminal, and anyone who negligently leaves a gun inside a vehicle is guilty of arming a criminal. Common sense says stolen guns are more likely to be used in crime.
Stolen Guns Arm Criminals
The AP is one of the better news networks, but like most of them, they tend to lean anti-gun. You can question the article’s intent, but it’s a fact that over half of the guns stolen in 2022 were stolen from vehicles.
That’s too damn many. I’m not taking the anti-gun side and suggesting some unenforceable anti-gun law that’s draconian in its nature. I’m here to appeal to the firearms community and remind you that your car is not a holster.
You might think, oh, it won’t happen to me, but it can and will. On May 8th, 2024, a Texas Game Warden’s vehicle was burglarized, and two rifles, a handgun, and some body armor were swiped. If these criminals aren’t afraid of targeting marked law enforcement vehicles, what makes you think your truck won’t be targeted?
Owning a firearm is a right, but it’s also a responsibility. You are responsible for your weapon when it’s in and out of your hands. You may feel like I’m victim-blaming the victims of vehicular theft, and okay, maybe so, but those folks need to be blamed for being lazy. Removing a firearm from a vehicle takes about 4 seconds of effort, so your excuses are invalid.
Those folks who ‘carry’ a gun but just leave it in their center console are also irresponsible. Learn to carry a gun on your person. It’s not hard. There are hundreds of great holster options out there that make concealed carry easy.
What about when you’re out and about and can’t carry your gun?
A Time & A Place
Leaving a gun unsecured in your car is dumb. Leaving a gun in your car locked in a safe isn’t as dumb. It comes down to how long and why you leave the gun in the vehicle. As a concealed carrier and law-abiding gun owner, I obey the law. That means dealing with a world of gun-free zones. I might have to go to the post office or to my kid’s school. In both those cases, I can’t even drive in the parking lot and have the gun in my car.
I’m used to the walk, as I call it, as I park off-site and yes, I leave my gun in my car. How do I prevent my gun from becoming a stolen gun that arms criminals and being a hypocrite? I bought a small safe that fits under my car seat. That safe is then bolted with a cable lock and locked inside the safe. This small safe isn’t optimum by any means.
A dedicated thief with the right tools can break their way into it. Yet, that would take time and prior planning, which means I’ve been targeted and followed, and I just don’t see that being realistic. If my car is broken into, and the safe is found, it provides enough of a challenge to prevent the thief from committing a snatch-and-grab. They would have to work in broad daylight, with tools, in a tight space, with a car alarm likely blaring to make off with the safe and gun.
Using a car safe when necessary to prevent your gun from becoming a stolen gun is an option. The thing is, you shouldn’t get reliant on that car safe. I would never leave a gun locked in my car safe overnight or for an extended period.
How Many Stolen Guns Are There?
According to self-reported police statistics and the FBI, there were 112,000 guns stolen in 2022. With over half being swiped from vehicles. Think about that for a second. That’s a lot of guns that can make their way into the hands of scum bags.
These scum bags are a plight in civilized society—the effort it takes to take your gun inside your home or to carry on your body is minuscule. The price of an under-seat safe is low, and the effort required to use one is just as low. When we discuss responsible gun owners, we need to make sure that taking steps to secure your firearm is discussed.
If you aren’t willing to be voluntarily responsible with your firearm, then you’re part of the problem.
