Texas Gun Owner Leaves Gun in the Pickup - It's Stolen

[mikeb302000]

Local news reports

A New Braunfels man reported to police that someone stole his handgun from his pickup truck while it was parked at a local restaurant last week, a police spokesman said.

Also stolen, along with his .357-caliber Smith & Wesson handgun, were his 25-year-old spurs, said Capt. John McDonald of New Braunfels Police Department. The victim valued the gun at $400 and the spurs at $500.

Gun-rights fanatics will never admit that failure to safely store a gun which is then stolen is wrong. They will do everything to resist accepting this responsibility. They blame the thief, of course, which no one could deny, but they do it to the exclusion of all else. The fact is, leaving a gun in a vehicle is not safe and responsible behavior.

The other trick they have is to blame the law which says guns aren't allowed in the restaurant or the post office or wherever the gun owner happened to be going when he decided to leave the gun in the car. If it weren't for that silly law, they cry, he wouldn't have been forced to do it. Of course, failing to hold the gun owner accountable, they conveniently forget that he had choices. He could simply not go to that place which prohibits guns, or, and here's a real shocker, he could leave the gun at home in the safe. That's assuming he owns a gun safe, which most of these cavalier, irresponsible gun owners do not.

What's your opinion? Please leave a comment.
Cross posted at Mikeb302000

[friendly_iconoclast]

1. My opinion is: You're full of yourself, as usual.

Also, you have one opinion disguised as an unsubstatiated statement...

The fact is, leaving a gun in a vehicle is not safe and responsible behavior.

...and another statement that demonstrates that you're about as accurate about gun owners as
right-wing commentators were about Mitt's election prospects:

That's assuming he owns a gun safe, which most of these cavalier, irresponsible gun owners do not.

[Ashgrey77]

2. No one cares about your opinion, or your stupid blog you seem to constantly cross link to.

One would think you would have figured this out by now.

[krispos42]

3. But if he leave the gun in his truck...

...it can't be used against him when the criminals effortlessly ambush and disarm him!

[AnotherMcIntosh]

4. "Gun-rights fanatics will never admit that ..." Who are these fanatics? Your straw-men?

[aikoaiko]

5. Still trying to blame the victims of a crime for the crime.

How fuckin typical of you.

[mikeb302000]

13. Isn't it possible for the victim of a crime to be guilty of something too?

Requiring a gun owner to be responsible and accountable does not exonerate the thief.

[gejohnston]

15. what crime? Safe storage?

if the gun was in the car, in a safe in the trunk, and the car was stolen, would you still insist on the owner being prosecuted? If a home was broken into, and a pro defeated the safe, would you still prosecute? I'm guessing you would.
If he left the keys in the ignition, and thief killed a couple of people during a joy ride turned police chase, would you still charge the victim? Since cars are more lethal than guns, you would have to if you are to be logically consistent.

[aikoaiko]

18. Not for the crime committed against them.

[petronius]

22. "Guilty" is a pretty loaded word in this context, and I wouldn't use it given that there's

zero reason to believe that the victim here broke any laws or committed any crime. And while it's appropriate to discuss and learn from any incident, transferring responsibility to the victim crosses into victim-blaming, which is generally repugnant.

Whenever I leave a valuable object of any sort in a car, I make sure it's out of sight and in a locked area if possible. If the victim didn't do that for either the gun or the spurs, I'd say he was unwise. If he left the gun lying on the seat with the window down, then I'd say he was irresponsible. But without any details, we can't call him unwise, irresponsible, or guilty - and the mere act of leaving a firearm in a car deserves none of those adjectives...

[4th law of robotics]

26. Everyone is s hidden criminal

Especially victims of crime.

Arrest this man and permanently strip him and all close relatives/friends of their rights.

A trial would merely give the guilty yet another way to evade justice.

[GreenStormCloud]

6. $500.00 for spurs?????

On Amazon you can get "Praying Cowboy Cross Spurs" for $37.00, other fancy spurs also available
http://www.amazon.com/Praying-Cowboy-Cross-Show-Spurs/dp/B002P2JAXY/ref=sr_1_11?ie=UTF8&qid=1352988813&sr=8-11&keywords=spurs

That's some really pricey spurs.

About the gun. So what? With over a hundred million gun owners some of them are going to forget and leave guns out.
What is the point in having a CHL if you don't carry the gun?

He should have carried the gun into the restaurant. Texas has specific signage laws. I doubt that the restuarant had a proper, legal, no-guns sign. He likely could have carried, concealed, and no one would have known about it. I do. With the exception of my doctor's office I ignore no-guns signs because the LAW says I can.

[mikeb302000]

14. No, he should have done exactly what I said.

He should have gone to a different restaurant or he should have left the gun home.

Do you think leaving a gun in the car is safe and responsible?

[gejohnston]

16. depends on the location of the gun

out of plain sight and car locked, yes
plain sight, no.

[fightthegoodfightnow]

21. An Argument

..that addresses original post unlike others who refuse to address the gun safety issue.

[rl6214]

34. You have something to say about guns

Or just criticizing other posts

[fightthegoodfightnow]

37. Go Back and Read that Post

I was praising someone for talking about the subject of the OP.

[GreenStormCloud]

17. I keep a gun in the car all the time.

The car is locked when we aren't in it. Gun is concealed, but readily available, loaded and chambered.

Texas has specific signage law. Unless the no-guns sign meets exactly state standards (Texas code 30.06) it does not have the force of law and I can ignore it. Since my gun is concealed, no one knows I have it. In Texas restaurants don't bother with no-guns signs. I have never seen one. What is common here is a sign that warns that "Possession of an unlicensed firearm on this property is a felony." Since I have a Concealed Handgun License the sign doesn't apply to me. Of course, criminals won't obey the sign either, so it has no real effect, except to calm some nervous ninnies.

[mikeb302000]

42. So, why do you leave a gun in the car all the time then?

[GreenStormCloud]

44. Because it is the car gun. That's its place.

That way we don't forget.

[ManiacJoe]

7. Was there a 'no guns' sign requiring the gun be left in the truck?

[slackmaster]

8. A car burglary is really big, important news that everyone should hear about

[friendly_iconoclast]

9. It is when you've got an unpopular agenda to tout...

[slackmaster]

11. It also helps to write the headline with a misplaced modifier

As written the subject line says that the pickup was stolen.

[fightthegoodfightnow]

19. NOTICE

None of the issues raised about gun safety were addressed.

[gejohnston]

23. if he left a small child in the car with it,

you would have a good point, but leaving a small child in a car gun or not for more than a few minutes can bring the power of the State down on you in some places.

[fightthegoodfightnow]

28. Like Here

http://www.democraticunderground.com/117286493

[slackmaster]

29. Are you suggesting that a child broke into the man's truck and stole his firearm?

Most likely it was an adult who could easily have obtained one by some other means.

[fightthegoodfightnow]

30. No

[rl6214]

35. You have something to say about guns

Or just about other people's posts

[fightthegoodfightnow]

38. Already Said

see my recommendation associated with original post.

[montanto]

10. My opinion: auto theft should be against the law.

[holdencaufield]

12. He had a license to drive that pickup ...

... he had no business leaving it in the car park. He should have drove it into the bar.

[fightthegoodfightnow]

20. NOTICE II

Again, none of the issues raised about gun safety were addressed.


Not one.

[Remmah2]

24. What issues about gun safety?

What business did the thief have breaking into his truck?

I should be able to leave $20 on my car seat, have the car unlocked and find it there the next day. Unfortunatly the world sucks because of people's attitudes. People need to keep their noses out of other's business.

[fightthegoodfightnow]

33. Right

And you think that is evidence of common sense?

When you 'people', you mean thieves?

[Remmah2]

40. "People"

I'd be referring to criminals and criminal attitudes. Not limited to thieves. When I was younger I worked on an uncles farm. The back door lock never worked, he/we never felt the need to lock the door at night. We use to leave the keys in the vechicles, it was never a problem. We could drop our bicycles on the front lawn and expect to find them there in the morning. If you dropped your wallet in the store it would be returned to you.

It could have been anything left on the seat of the truck in the OP. People's (general term) respect for other people has changed. It's not just limited to career criminals either.

[rrneck]

25. Was the truck locked? nt

[rl6214]

36. You have something to say about guns

Or are you just going to be the thread police

[fightthegoodfightnow]

39. See original post recommendation

.

[4th law of robotics]

27. Claim: crime is so rampant no one should own a gun. it will just get stolen

Claim: crime is so rare no one needs a gun for self defense.

challenge: both statements are true at the same time.

Solution: .... Won't you comment at my blog?

[AtheistCrusader]

31. Then stop erecting zones into which I cannot carry my firearm.

Problem solved.

There you go, misusing the word 'most' again.

[AtheistCrusader]

32. By the way, this happened to Obama's Drug Czar, Kerlikowske, when he was police chief of Seattle.

Those cavalier, irresponsible gun owners that run metropolis-level police departments and national drug policy departments.


Grrr.

Grr I tell you.

[Atypical Liberal]

41. People should not have to leave their guns in their cars.

The fact is, leaving a gun in a vehicle is not safe and responsible behavior.

Easy fix: Don't pass laws that require people to leave their firearms in their vehicles.

The other trick they have is to blame the law which says guns aren't allowed in the restaurant or the post office or wherever the gun owner happened to be going when he decided to leave the gun in the car.

No trick needed.

That's assuming he owns a gun safe, which most of these cavalier, irresponsible gun owners do not.

Unless you have children in your home, there is no real need for a gun safe. You've already said you think safes like my Stack-On 14-gun safe, which meets the CDOJ requirements for safe firearm storage are OK for use as a gun safe. It's about as easy to break into one of these filing cabinets as it is to break into a car, or a house.

So if that kind of safe is OK, why not a car, or a house?

[mikeb302000]

43. Cars can be stolen and driven away, that's why. nt

[Atypical Liberal]

45. Another great reason not to force people to leave them in their cars.

[trouble.smith]

46. boo fucking hoo. someone broke into my Apartment in Texas and stolel a Glock. was that my fault too?

blame the victim. How fucking typical.

[mikeb302000]

47. It depends on how your gun was stored. nt

[friendly_iconoclast]

48. Would you say that about *any* other item that might have been stolen?

Say, a laptop? I rather doubt it...

[trouble.smith]

49. Does it depend on how your date was dressed too?

[trouble.smith]

50. what if it was stored in a 500 lb gun safe?

Thieves break into Springfield home, steal 500-pound gun safe containing 15 weapons