A 35-year old man sitting in his car on a New Orleans street was the subject of an attempted carjacking Friday night. According to police, the intended victim was approached by an armed stranger who demanded the man get out of his car. Instead, he pulled a gun of his own and shot the suspect.

The police were called to the scene and an investigation into the armed robbery with a gun was opened. The unidentified robber was still at large as of Saturday night.

The identity of the would-be victim and whether or not his gun was properly registered was not immediately known, and no other information was immediately available.

It appears to be a pretty simple case of self-defense, but leave it to the media (in this case WWL-TV) to botch their reporting of the incident. Notice the TV station says it’s not known whether the armed citizen’s firearm was “properly registered”. Do you think any reporter bothered to check to see if Louisiana requires firearm registration?

Here’s a hint: it doesn’t. Nor does Louisiana require a license to own a firearm. If you can legally own a firearm you can also legally transport it in your vehicle, with no need for a concealed carry license. That makes sense; after all, #SelfDefenseIsAHumanRight.

My friend Stephen Gutowski of the Washington Free Beacon has said he believes more press outlets need more reporters dedicated to the firearms beat, and he’s right, but even general assignment reporters should know the basic gun laws in the markets where they work. It doesn’t take much time to learn the facts, and it’s actually kind of a pre-requisite if your job is to, you know, report facts.

This isn’t the worst case of ignorant reporters reporting on gun issues, but it does demonstrate the sheer unwillingness of many reporters to do even the most basic fact-checking before going on air or to print with their stories. Not only does it make them look lazy and biased when it comes to reporting on 2A issues, it makes you question how thoroughly they’re reporting non-2A stories as well.