For safety’s sake, lock guns in cars

So here’s a question: Having folks riding around with guns in their cars – these are people without badges, mind you – is pretty dangerous, as it could mean a road rage incident could turn deadly, or even an argument with a neighbor could end in gunfire. So is there any way that folks carrying their guns in their cars could be even more dangerous?

Yep: If the guns are left in those cars when they’re unlocked.

That’s why Sheriff Donnie Harrison of Wake County and the county’s District Attorney Lorrin Freeman are warning people to lock their guns in their cars – preferably out of sight.

So far this year, Harrison’s department has answered 20 reports of guns stolen from cars. Raleigh police have had 39 such incidents.

These thefts are about as dangerous to the general public as thefts can get. One, they involve deadly weapons. Two, the people stealing those weapons aren’t exactly the most law-abiding members of society. They’re thieves.

Then they’re thieves with guns.

These are just thefts from unlocked cars. It’s a funny thing, after all, about those who steal. Sometimes, believe it or not, they don’t just go for unlocked cars. They will actually break into a car and steal things.

Including guns.

This story was originally published August 13, 2017 at 9:30 AM with the headline "For safety’s sake, lock guns in cars."