UPDATE: Oh, Oh, Oh, but stolen guns are NOT a problem;
And South Dakota as a whole has also seen a rise in the amount of stolen guns reported recently as well. Data from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives showed stolen guns recovered in the state rose from 252 in 2014 to 796 in 2020.
As we know, it seems lately Sioux Falls has become a fine place to pop off guns. We also know that most criminals don’t go through the trouble of background checks to get a gun. Normally it is done illegally and an easy way to get a gun illegally in Sioux Falls is to steal it from an unlocked car.
Why anyone would leave a firearm in an unlocked car is beyond me. I mean, if you own a firearm for protection it should be in one of two places; either on your waist or in a locked case inside your home.
We also know that if the SFPD recovers a stolen weapon used in a crime they have many resources to trace that gun back to the original owner. I think that is why many people who have a gun stolen from an unsecured location like an unlocked car probably don’t report it was stolen.
While I will defend Chief Thum that the police are usually reactionary there are things they can do;
Chief Thum says there is no simple answer to stopping gun violence. Making sure people are held accountable is one step.
“I think a lot of times people say what are police going to do, well the reality is once the trigger is pulled it kind of too late,” said Thum.
Transparency is the first thing that comes to mind, like sharing more information about what happened so residents can assist in finding the criminal. But the Chief and his information officer need to start being more vocal about where the guns are coming from and how many are being stolen in Sioux Falls due to irresponsible gun owners not locking up the weapon when not in use.
I suggested to councilor Starr a couple of years ago that the city council needs to write an ordinance that fines $1,000 to a legal gun owner if their gun is stolen and used in a crime. And I don’t mean stolen from a locked safe in the basement, but from an unlocked car in the driveway.
Like panhandlers, there is only so much you can do to stop people who commit gun violence, but if you start getting tough on the source like fining people who hand money out of the windows of their cars or people who don’t lock up their firearms properly maybe we can alleviate some of these problems.
If the sole purpose of owning a firearm legally is to protect yourself from a criminal, then why would you leave that very protection in your unlocked car? Because you are NOT a responsible gun owner and you should pay a price for your negligence.
The 2nd Amendment, like the 1st is very broad, but lawmakers have the right to regulate both of them.
What a ridiculous argument you have and you Lefty’s and your obsession with punishing people who don’t break the law is insane. How about we HAMMER the thieves instead. How about 20 years in prison for stealing a gun? Are we going to fine people who have their car stolen while its running in the winter or the person who has their prescription stolen which is in turn sold, etc. The list could go on and on but, your solutions to things at times are so beyond the pale its ridiculous.
By your logic if I don’t lock it up properly and its stolen its MY fault and you are gonna fine me? We never want to hold the people accountable for the crimes they are committing and we NOW want to turn on citizens who are not breaking the law to remedy the issue! I am no attorney but, I doubt this would hold up in a court of law if challenged and we would waste valuable tax dollar defending a loser in court. I have hear you a TON of times complain about this state passing a laws that we know will be struck down, seem similar
I own a handgun to protect myself from others with guns. What needs to happen is fewer guns. Perhaps a buyback program. Handguns only. Rifles and shotguns are hard to conceal and justified for hunting and target sporting. Pistols could be shipped to Ukraine or another war zone where self defense is especially important.
Stupid me, I was unaware I could kill someone shooting pills out of a pill bottle.
but what about muh freedom to leave my car doors wide open?
The day the government creates a Gun Buy Back Program, and confiscates our guns, is the day a Civil War begins. Do not be foolish, the 2nd Amendment is well protected right of the State and its Citizens to defend its borders.
Are you referring to the Civil War that broke out in Australia when they did it? LOL.
https://www.vox.com/2015/8/27/9212725/australia-buyback
What happened was a safer society something we apparently hate in Merica.
If we “HAMMER” the thieves, haven’t they already committed the crimes? We need to work to prevent crimes. Gun ownership is a 19th Century hobby. It’s time people stopped playing cowboys and Indians and grew-up. Just say no to guns. Don’t shop at places which sell guns and ammo. Maturity and paranoia are the real issues here. #ItsTimeManyGrewUp
I always enjoy the ignorance when someone throws in the punishing people who don’t break the law is insane argument. If the local, state or federal governments made leaving your gun unattended illegal, then it would be a law broken AKA a crime. Our elected officials lack the courage to be leaders showing a way out of the stupidity they have fostered.
I won’t tell you where, but, there are loaded pistols and shotguns in my house, always. Wife and kids know how to use them and where they are. A gun locked up, unloaded is useless….just like a lib’ral. On a fun note, I was drinking bourbon in Trump Tower last night, I may have found more classified docs! AMAZING how many Hispanic families were coming in and taking pictures standing in front of 45! There’s hope for our nation yet!
“Say, isn’t Gary’s Gun Shop ‘….where the shooters shop’?”…
I’m pro gun, a gun hobbyist, I shoot a lot for accuracy ,I conceal carry most of the time and I have a training/certification by 42 states to conceal carry.
I said when Noem came in that 2A conceal carry pushed by the extreme right in this state would dramatically increase gun violence. That has been coming to fruition since then. 2A carry advocates claimed that more good guys will carry guns and that has not come to fruition for many reasons.
Knuckleheads, drunks and wannabe gangsters now have nothing holding them back from shoving a loaded Glock in their pants while getting high and road raging.
I’m friends with several officers and they agree that this new 2A law is bad news. BUT. If you steer clear of bad people, drugs and being drunk, you have very little chance of involved in gun violence in SF.
If you’re educated, sober and willing to commit to gun training, I and law enforcement recommend you consider achieving an Enhanced Carry card and help do your part to keep your community safer.
Drinking bourbon at Trump Tower, that sounds like a lonely moment for a crazy uncle. Hispanics in love with Trump, but did you look at their t-shirts? They said: “I’m with Stupid” with an arrow. I’m a liberal who has never been locked up and that’s probably because I’m never loaded. A man with guns is like a man with too many remotes. It’s time to get off the couch and make something of yourself, like a real man who doesn’t need a gun.
More? But they’re not classified according to Uncle Don.
Man, you mention the word gun and the crazies come out. Scott simply raised a good point. If you decide to use your 2A rights to own a gun it is YOUR responsibility to be responsible with said weapon. Leaving it in an unlocked car is not being responsible. That’s all he said.
“crazies” who want to keep their guns. Maybe they are right about that mental health thing after all.
2A law made it legal to stick a loaded weapon in your car or in your pants without any kind of training or repercussion if you don’t use/keep that gun responsibly.
Roll the law back to needing a permit and we will remove a lot of fools leaving guns in cars and toting them into fistfights. Yes, this “right wing nut” believes there should be some gun laws.
Every officer will tell you to be worried while behind the wheel and the chances of a law abiding citizens being a gun victim of are extremely low.
Still “enjoying?” New York City. Headed to a lesbian wedding in about an hour, thought I would update Fear…haven’t seen any crime yet, Fox News may be over playing that just a bit! But, I haven’t talked to a cop that could help with anything, most seemed very young and clueless, looks like they are having issues with staffing. The lawless here are all on electric bikes. Weaving in and out of traffic doing wheelies going the WRONG way down Broadway. Bike paths say “no electric” right on them, so full of electric bikes, no one else can use them. Need licensing and regulations for them now, before it’s too late.
Still “‘enjoying?’… NYC'” and attending a lesbian wedding. OH, there is so much I could say right now, but I better not. Or, is that just plain “Fear”?
AND, I once went the wrong way down Broadway, but all because of a woman I met on a street corner there …. #BoomityBoomBoomBang
Plus, do kids really still do wheelies? That sounds so, ‘The Wonder Years’…. But were they Schwinns?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DmhgtBA16aA