Lock up your guns
Especially in your car
We often write about the importance of safe storage of firearms in this newsletter. Typically that implies storage inside the home, to prevent both the accidental and the intentional use of guns by children. But a new report from Everytown has us thinking about the storage of guns in cars this week.
The report, which analyzed crime data from 337 cities in the 44 states that share that information with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, found:
Nearly 112,000 guns were reported stolen in those cities in 2022, though the actual total is likely higher, as only about a third of states require owners to report lost or stolen guns.
The majority (51%) of the stolen guns were taken from cars, most often when parked in driveways or outside people’s homes.
A gun is stolen from a car every nine minutes, and the theft rate is triple what it was as recently as 2013, rising from an estimated 21.0 thefts per 100,000 people to 63.1 per 100,000 people.
The gun-theft rate from cars is 18 times higher in cities with weaker gun safety laws vs. those with stronger laws.
Interestingly, thefts from vehicles in general are down about 11% over the same time period, so it’s not that more people are breaking into cars and simply taking guns they happen to find. Thieves are specifically targeting cars for firearms, which are then frequently used in other crimes, including armed robberies and homicides. Stolen guns are notoriously difficult to track, making it challenging for law enforcement agencies to recover them and hold perpetrators accountable. This lack of accountability further fuels the underground market for firearms, perpetuating a cycle of theft and violence that endangers our communities.
"People don't go to a mall and steal a firearm from a locked car to go hunting. Those guns are going straight to the street," says Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Director Steve Dettelbach. “They’re going to violent people who can’t pass a background check. They’re going to gangs. They’re going to drug dealers, and they’re going to hurt and kill the people who live in the next town, the next county or the next state."
These disturbing findings underscore the need for all of us who own firearms to safely secure them to prevent them from getting into the wrong hands, whether that’s children at home or criminals on the street. By working together, we can mitigate these risks and create safer environments for everyone.
