Most gun owners are very responsible. We know this from our own experience, and there are even studies on just what we do to be as responsible as possible. We take the responsibility of being gun owners very seriously.

Then you have these folks.

Officers with the Ormond Beach Police Department handled four different cases over the course of several days, all involving guns that were reported stolen from unlocked cars, police said Tuesday.

Each theft took place just five to ten minutes away from the next.

“A lot of people keep guns in their cars or on them,” Ken Newman said. “I usually leave mine in the car. I’m rethinking that.”

Newman said he woke up to a knock at his door from police at the beginning of December. Officers told him his truck had been ransacked on Laurel Ridge Break, and that his semi-automatic pistol had been stolen.

“It’s not in an obvious place, but it has been recommended that I take the gun in the house,” Newman said. “But that’s hard to do.”

…

Police documented three more guns taken out of unlocked cars in Ormond Beach. When questioned on the topic, officers said, gun owners losing or having their guns stolen does not affect their permit to carry.

Now, anyone can have a brain fart. I get that.

But how do you leave a gun in your car and not lock it? How?

These are the people anti-gun jihadis point to when agitating for laws that require firearms to be locked up. These are the people they point to when they want to pretend gun owners aren’t really responsible.

And there’s not much we can do to counter it other than to point out that a handful of gun owners on Ormond Beach, FL aren’t representative of the United States as a whole.

However, anecdotal data works to sway people because it’s personal. It feels more real than statistics, even those statistics gives one a better overview of the situation.

Folks, if you’re going to leave a gun in your vehicle, make sure it’s locked. Hell, in this day and age, make sure it’s locked whether you leave a gun in it or not, but especially if you’re going to leave a gun in there.

There’s no excuse for not making it difficult for potential thieves to steal your firearm. None. Especially when so many cars can be locked remotely, for crying out loud.

To be fair, Mr. Newman has seen the error of his ways. “Don’t be stupid like me,” he told WKMG. “Lock your car.”

I agree. Lock. Your. Car.

Or, at the very least don’t leave your gun in the car if you’re inclined to leave it unlocked.

This isn’t just for you, either, but for your entire community. Now, criminals have their hands on guns that they had no difficulty in getting. What they do with those guns going forward is something I’m sure Newman would rather not think about.

I can’t say that I blame him.