I think we can all agree that we should do everything we can to keep criminals from getting their hands on guns. In particular, our guns. After all, those guns in criminal hands are also the same guns used to commit crimes that are then used to justify gun control. Even if you care nothing at all about crime, it would make sense to at least make an effort as a way to thwart gun control arguments.

Unfortunately, a lot of people don’t take simple steps to minimize the chance of their guns being stolen.

In Arlington, Texas, police are practically begging people to stop being so stupid.

Arlington police are urging gun owners to better secure their firearms, blaming an uptick in crime on guns swiped from vehicles, many left unlocked.

Both the number of stolen guns and the number of cases involving stolen firearms have increased so far this year, according to police data.

“Leaving a firearm unsecured in a vehicle is not the responsible gun owner thing to do,” said Arlington police officer Jastin Williams, who’s a firearms safety expert.

This summer, Arlington Police Chief Al Jones blamed an uptick in violence to teenagers having access to guns. Most guns confiscated by police were stolen from vehicles, he said.

Honestly, for the love of all that is holy, can someone please tell me why you would leave a gun in a car that you’re not bothering to lock?

I mean, I lock my car because I’m worried about all kinds of things being stolen, but I also recognize that it’s not that difficult to gain access to a vehicle, even if it is locked. It’s why I don’t leave anything in plain view if I have to leave it in the car.

And I don’t leave anything of value in a car any longer than I have to. That includes firearms.

Yet people continue to do so.

Realistically, I know that most who read Bearing Arms aren’t doing that. They have enough sense to recognize that we don’t live in a perfect world, we live in this one, so they’d best understand that Mr. Murphy and his law get a say when it comes to leaving guns in cars, so they generally don’t if they can avoid it.

But I suspect you all know someone who does. Please forward this story to them. Let them know not to do that or, if they have to for some reason, at least get a vehicle-mounted safe so that their firearm will be secure while in there.

Now, with all that said, I’d really love to know the locations where these thefts occur. How many take place outside of gun-free zones, for example, where people are leaving guns because they can’t bring them with them.

Personally, I suspect a fair number of them are. I wish I had the resources to look into these thefts like this, but alas, I do not, so this is just a suspicion.

If it’s true, though, it’s yet another reason gun-free zones are bad for our communities.