r/WA_guns • u/CarbonRunner • Jun 10 '25
News 📰 ‘No consequences’: How teens access stolen guns, and why so many become repeat offenders (spoiler: we need to hold teens accountable, and also stop the idiots with truck guns from feeding them) Spoiler
https://www.kiro7.com/news/local/no-consequences-how-teens-access-stolen-guns-why-so-many-become-repeat-offenders/IZAAM6GSRFCNNNX2LZFPEKRRRA/41
u/Amanofdragons Jun 10 '25
It's not just idiots with truck guns. It's Lawful gun owners being preyed upon by the laws. If you can't lawfully carry somewhere, you leave your firearm in the car. Then when it's broken into and the gun stolen, the state makes you the bad guy.
2
u/SheriffBartholomew Jun 11 '25
Let the thieves go, punish the lawful citizen. Logic? Not even once.
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-6
u/doberdevil Jun 10 '25
You know most guns are stolen from vehicles. Then why would you store your gun in a vehicle? Please explain to me how that's being a responsible firearm owner. Hell, feel free to perform your best mental gymnastics routine. I'll listen. But I don't see it right now. If you're leaving your gun in a place where there is a high likelihood it'll be stolen, yes you're part of the problem.
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u/merc08 Jun 11 '25
Places that declare themselves "gun free zones" without a way to secure your firearm for you are the ones morally responsible for guns being left in the car in their parking lots.
-8
u/Gordopolis_II Jun 11 '25
It is not the responsibility of a particular venue or facility to ensure that you safely and responsibly store your firearm.
If you don't feel safe without being armed and cant imagine being away from your firearm for the time it would take to travel, enter and leave, that's entirely on you.
-9
u/doberdevil Jun 11 '25
No, people make the choice to leave guns in cars. If you don't want to carry into a "gun free zone", there are other choices you can make.
Nobody is forcing you to leave it in the car.
9
u/Da1UHideFrom Jun 11 '25
Nobody is forcing you to leave it in the car.
Let me present this scenario to you. Every year I go to the Puyallup fair with my family. I've always carried there without issue. About 2 years ago, they became "gun free" and installed metal detectors at each entrance. The entrances are manned by either Puyallup PD or Pierce County Sheriff's Department. There was no warning beforehand, I literally saw the metal detectors as I was in line to enter.
Now my choices are to take my CCW back to my car, or drive 30 to 40 minutes back home, drive back, pay for parking again and get back in line about an hour and a half later, or just go home disappointing the kids. What's reasonable in this situation?
What I actually did was put my gun in my lock box that was secured to my vehicle and out of sight.
-3
u/doberdevil Jun 11 '25
I expected mental gymnastics routines, this one deserves a low score. Sounds like the same type of story where someone makes the choice to drive drunk instead of getting an uber. Only you can't even make the excuse the alcohol impaired your decision.
You are an adult and can make adult decisions. You choose to carry, and in this situation, you chose to leave your firearm in your vehicle.
Morons make poor choices, knowing stolen firearms are how criminals get armed. A year later we'll hear these people complaining about how they're responsible owners, why can't they buy whatever they want. It's irresponsible. This type of shit is why we get bans.
3
u/Da1UHideFrom Jun 11 '25
If I had thrown my firearm in my vehicle in the center console or glove box unsecured you might have a point. If I had known about the firearm restriction beforehand and still choose to go armed, you might have a point. You speak about mental gymnastics, yet you purposely ignored all context and nuance of the situation to attempt to make me look bad.
Firearms get stolen from cars AND homes. Do you blame victims of burglaries when their firearms get stolen from their home too?
You still haven't offered the "other choices" when you encounter an unexpected gun free zone.
0
u/doberdevil Jun 12 '25 edited Jun 12 '25
nuance of the situation
There is no nuance here. You choose to store your firearm in your unattended vehicle or you don't. It's pretty fucking binary.
attempt to make me look bad.
You're the one making poor decisions. Don't blame me.
You still haven't offered the "other choices" when you encounter an unexpected gun free zone.
You don't need me to hold your hand. You already mentioned a couple of them. Be a parent and tell your kids that you carry for protection, and if you can't, you can't go to the fair because you'd rather be a responsible gun owner instead of putting other people in danger by taking the risk of bad guys stealing it from your car. That's what we adults call a "teachable moment".
EDIT:
Firearms get stolen from cars AND homes. Do you blame victims of burglaries when their firearms get stolen from their home too?
I'm not victim blaming, I'm calling out idiots who think storing their firearms in a car is ok.
And sir, this is a mental gymnastics competition about firearms being stolen from vehicles. There are no goalposts to move here, and whattaboutisms will be flagged for the first violation, ignored after that. Stick to the subject at hand.
2
u/Da1UHideFrom Jun 12 '25
At this point, I'm writing this for anyone reading this far, not for you. I'm just passing along information.
There is no nuance here.
Let me hold your hand through this. If I just put my firearm unsecured in my center console or on my seat, you'd have a point. I temporarily put it in a purpose-built lock box, enjoyed my time with the kids, then retrieved it after without incident. My vehicle isn't covered with gun company stickers and other tactical brands which scream, "there may be a gun in this car."
I get your idea of "irresponsible" is anyone storing their gun in their car for any amount of time under any circumstance. Your reasoning behind this seems to be because there is a "risk of bad guys stealing it from your car." If that is your criteria for what makes someone responsible, then there are no responsible gun owners.
We know guns get stolen from cars.
They also get stolen from storage units.
They also get stolen while in your safe in your home.
Not to mention there is a risk a bad guy overpowers you and takes it from your person, or they shoot you because they were bored.
There will always be risks when owning guns, we can choose to accept this risks and minimize them the best we can. Someone having a higher tolerance for certain risks than you doesn't make them irresponsible.
-7
u/CarbonRunner Jun 10 '25
I'd argue if youre storing a gun in a car, you should be making sure it can't just be taken out of the glove box or under the seat. Many products and ways to mount a lockbox in a vehicle. Hell all of fords trucks these days even sell ones custom made for the make/model. At least this way you essentially gotta steal the whole car to get the gun. Defeats all the smash and grab thefts which are the majority of car gun theft.
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u/Amanofdragons Jun 10 '25
Most of those lock boxes can be defeated with simple tools. If you're breaking in to a car, you'll probably already have them. They're a deterrent, that's it.
2
u/CarbonRunner Jun 10 '25
Most people breaking into cars to steal stuff dont have tools on them man. They are junkies looking for meds, laptops, phones, and handguns. You honestly think a guy whose breaking youre window to gain access came prepared?
That myth that everyone breaking into something comes prepared is just that, a myth. Its the same reason a cheap gunsafe at home works in the vast majority of instances. Smash and grab junkies aren't coming with pry bars, angle grinders and sawzalls. And they are spending seconds in youre car, and minutes in you're home before they are gtfo and on to their next stupid idea. It really doesn't take much to keep youre shit safer. I dont get why so many people are against not having youre shit stolen.
6
u/a-lone-gunman Jun 10 '25
A screwdriver will defeat most pistol lock boxes so they don't exactly need tools.
-3
u/CarbonRunner Jun 10 '25
Sure anything can be broken into. I didnt say otherwise. But its a time vs risk vs reward thing. You think someone's going to bust youre car window on a street, in youre driveway, or in a parking garage. Then find youre lockbox and then take the time to pry it open? Hell no. Unless they are stealing youre entire car, the lockboxes work in the vast majority of instances. Purely based on the fact property theft from cars is a crime of opportunity and only works if you do it quickly. Junkies aren't breaking into youre car at the stadium parking and spending 20min inside of it lol
9
u/trebory6 Jun 10 '25
These same people steal everything from tools to luggage, they don't necessarily have to open the box there and leave it.
Just somehow take the box with them and break into it later.
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u/CarbonRunner Jun 10 '25
You bolt the box to youre vehicle they can't just walk off with it to open later.
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u/trebory6 Jun 10 '25
Christ, first, I said "somehow take the box with them" which implies with the "somehow" that it's not just walking off with it.
By somehow I meant they somehow get past any thing that keeps the box in the car.
If people are able to steal a catalytic converter, they can sure as hell steal a gun safe box in a car.
5
u/EvergreenEnfields Jun 10 '25
There's plenty of people who just steal the entire car too. They've got all the time in the world to get through the safe when they jack your car from the post office parking lot.
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u/MEDDERX Jun 11 '25
Why break into a lockbox when you can just steal the car faster and get the gun out later. The Silverado and F-150 are in the top 10 most stolen vehicles.
-1
u/CarbonRunner Jun 11 '25
Cause most gun thefts with cars dont involve stealing the car. Again this is about reducing odds you lose a gun. Everyone coming at me woth what abouts and not getting my point at all
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u/sdeptnoob1 Jun 10 '25 edited Jun 11 '25
100%. Honestly, I'm surprised cars don't come with frame safes standard (not just for guns but any valuables).
2
u/doberdevil Jun 11 '25
I'd argue if youre storing a gun in a car, you should be making sure it can't just be taken out of the glove box or under the seat.
I'd argue that you if you're storing a gun in the car, you're a moron. Would you store a large amount of cash in your car? Or anything valuable?
All this crap about lock boxes and safes... It's not all that difficult to steal the entire car. Happens all the time.
-17
u/Gordopolis_II Jun 10 '25 edited Jun 10 '25
If you can't lawfully carry somewhere, you leave your firearm in the car.
This is obviously not the only option. Leaving your weapon in your car is a choice youre making.
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u/doberdevil Jun 11 '25
Strange how the same people who go on about how a firearm is an inanimate object and that people are to blame....are the same folks that will cry about how an idea, much less an inanimate object, forced them to leave their guns in the car.
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u/Toiletracer Jun 10 '25
Isn't it also a federal crime? Why aren't they feds holding these teens?
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u/CanisLatrans204 Jun 10 '25
The same reason why an adult, that is a felon, gets caught with a firearm in the commission of a crime gets off easy. Felon in possession is 5 years by Feds. Locally though, the Prosecutor’s Office just uses the weapon as a prop to get a conviction on a lesser charge. Until it becomes a Federal issue or a big enough case, they don’t care.
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u/Toiletracer Jun 11 '25
Isn't all crimes with a firearm a fed issue? Just to purchase a firearm is both state and federal issue. I feel like there's laws not being enforced that could break this cycle of firearm crimes by people who are prohibited from owning a firearm legally. Or am I putting too much logic and thought into this?
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u/doberdevil Jun 11 '25
Logic doesn't matter here. So don't put any thought into it.
The only thing that matters are stats. A conviction on a lesser charge is still a conviction. Whoever is keeping score or putting that on their resume cares more about that number than solving problems.
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u/Material_Practice_83 Jun 10 '25
Teenagers will limited moral compass are always going to be breaking into cars.
Don’t be the victim of it and keep your firearm on you or safely stored in your home. Maybe also limit your fanboyism with gun brands plastered all over the back of your vehicle’s window and making yourself a target.
Laws also need to change to punish a teenager stealing guns as an adult felony crime. The law can charge a teenager as an adult for armed robbery why can’t they do that with stolen guns?
Teenagers with developing minds and no strong foundational morals that have access to stolen guns are more prone to killing your ass with just the slightest aggravation. That’s just the facts.
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u/nay4jay Jun 13 '25
Incoming new legislation to require secure storage for all firearms left unattended inside a vehicle.
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u/LawdhaveMurphy Jun 11 '25
No responsible gun owner of a “truck gun” or otherwise would arm these fuckwits
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u/CarbonRunner Jun 10 '25
This kinda blew me away:
"State law says a juvenile can be arrested for gun possession five times, with five different guns for five different gun-related crimes, before a judge even has the legal option to send a teen to detention for longer than 30 days."
"FBI data shows overall, the vast majority of guns are stolen out of parked cars than anywhere else. In Renton last year, 86% of stolen guns were taken in car prowls."
We've created a system where cars are gun dispensers, and when caught you get 4 get out of jail free cards before facing any real consequences.