Should Firearm Owners Be Held Accountable?

In the past 25 days, three handguns have been stolen out of vehicles in Northeast Cobb - two of which were stolen out of unlocked vehicles, according to Cobb County Precinct 1 and 4 police blotters.

Jan. 29, 10:24 p.m. - Jan. 30, 12:30 p.m. An unlocked Suburban parked on Preswick Drive was entered. A Ruger .380 semi automatic pistol was taken from the console of the vehicle.  A Magellan GPS nylon briefcase and a Motorola blue tooth were stolen.

Jan. 15, 12 p.m. - Feb. 8, 12 p.m. A handgun was taken from an unlocked vehicle parked at Cedar Drive.

Feb. 11, 12 p.m. - Feb. 15, 12 p.m. A vehicle parked on Falcon Woods Trail was forcibly entered. A Glock 23 handgun and a pair of Costa del Mar Fathom sunglasses were taken.

According to the Cobb County Police Department, by law the firearm owner can not be ticketed or otherwise reprimanded for leaving a deadly weapon in an unlocked vehicle.

"A gun is property," explained Public Information Officer Joe Hernandez of Cobb County Police. "While it is highly irresponsible for owners to leave weapons in unlocked cars it ultimately is their property."

There are no Georgia State laws prohibiting gun owners from keeping a gun in their car, and no laws requiring them to lock the doors.

These unaccounted for firearms could possibly be used in a crime, hurt or even kill someone. What happens now?

"The number one goal of the police is to get the serial number entered into the National Crime Information Center (NCIC; database) so the weapon can be entered as stolen so the L.E. officer who comes across that weapon will discover it is stolen, and being in possession of a stolen firearm is a felony," said Hernandez.

According to a Feb. 17 Examiner.com report, The National Rifle Association (NRA)  endorses the H.R. 645 gun control bill in Congress which would turn victims who had their firearms stolen into criminals if the gun was not locked up.
Continue reading the report on Examiner.com: NRA endorses gun control bill in Congress - H.R. 645 - Los Angeles LA | Examiner.com http://www.examiner.com/la-in-los-angeles/nra-endorses-gun-control-bill-congress-h-r-645#ixzz1EeU4jEip

Question: Should the law be changed and firearm owners be held responsible if stolen firearms were not locked up or secured?

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