Gun owners often have something of an antagonistic view of the media. After all, these are the same journalists and editors who treat us like we’re all a bunch of criminals in the making, that it’s only a matter of time before we all lose our minds and commit genocide.

However, every now and then, one of the larger papers will step up and say something that isn’t completely stupid. When that happens, they deserve credit.

Take, for example, the Dallas Morning News:

In a way of thinking, gun ownership in America is deeply rooted in a desire for personal responsibility. Many gun owners carry a gun out of a desire to defend themselves if attacked, and many Americans take pride in being able to defend their family and loved ones by keeping a weapon in their home.

But there is another element to personal responsibility that attaches to gun ownership, and this one happens to offer an easy way to diminish calls for gun restrictions in the future. To wit, if more gun owners took simple steps to keep their lawfully owned guns from being stolen and used by dangerous criminals then society would be better off and there would be fewer calls for more gun controls.

Considering what’s unfolding in Arlington. In this large and sprawling community, Police Chief AI Jones has noted recently that a recent spate of violence actually stems from criminals stealing guns from cars, many left unlocked.

Jones said he has seen a rise in violence in Arlington that is due to teenagers having access to guns and that most of the guns being confiscated by police have been stolen from vehicles.

“But Tom, they’re chastising gun owners!”

Yes, they are. What they’re not doing, though, is being inaccurate with their comments.

Look, the editorial staff has acknowledged that these stolen guns are being used in crimes and that if gun owners secured their weapons better, we’d have fewer firearms stolen. Therefore, it’s plausible that if we prevented our guns from being stolen, we’d have fewer so-called gun crimes.

This isn’t an unreasonable position, after all, and it doesn’t require us to pass new gun control laws that won’t actually do a damn thing. I mean, sure, they’ll try and get the guns some other way, but why should we make it easy for them?

Instead, what we need to do is lock our freaking guns up. I’ve harped on this over and over again, and realistically, I suspect I’m preaching to the choir. I’m pretty sure our average reader doesn’t do this kind of stupid thing.

Yet we also know other folks who aren’t really thinking about that. They leave the gun in the car and don’t sweat it because no one has ever messed with their unlocked car before, which isn’t necessarily true. They just didn’t know it because nothing was missing. Nothing was missing because nothing of value was left behind.

Like, you know…a gun.

Anyway, they do this and don’t even think about it. They don’t read up on the Second Amendment or anything so they don’t come here or to any gun-related site. They don’t realize they’re screwing it up for the rest of us.