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TexasGal, that is why I've repeated said that it would be foolish not to buy and use a $30-$40 lock box. I have one myself, and I advocate that anyone else should too.

That said, the only time I ever use it is when I go to the Fort Worth gun show, which requires me to not carry my loaded firearm inside. And when I lock it in my car, inside the lock box, nobody else has access to it unless they are breaking into the vehicle. I wouldn't leave the gun in the car at a dealership or other venue, locked up or not. It would be on my person where it belongs.

suthdj wrote:

The Annoyed Man wrote:

C-dub wrote:Maybe a little if it is stolen and then used in a crime?

Nope. Texas law does not hold the victim of a crime to be responsible for the subsequent crimes of the perpetrator. I don't know chapter and verse, but I've seen it quoted here on this forum - a Texas gun owner is not subject to any criminal liability if their stolen gun is used in another crime.

My guess is that the same would be true about civil liability if your gun were stolen, used in another crime, found, traced back to your ownership, and then you were sued by the other victim's family for not having adequately secured your gun. I don't believe any Texas jury would buy that one.

"What if" The person caring for your car(clean,lube etc..) is a minor and you left it unsecured. I believe there is criminal charges in that case due to the person being a minor and having access to the weapon and I guess also used to injure someone.

Then yes, that would probably be a violation of the law, as far as I can see, but the charge would be one of making a gun available to a minor. I'm pretty sure that there would be no criminal legal consequence to you pertaining to that minor's subsequent use of the gun to commit a crime. I guess my response assumes the thief is not a minor employed by a car wash.

In any case, it is foolish to not secure your weapon in a lock box, which can be anchored by a steel cable to your seat struts, if you are going to leave your gun in the car. They cost all of $29.95 to $39.95, depending on the size of your gun, and given the price of a gun and the cost of any possible legal consequences to you, it is cheap insurance.

C-dub wrote:Maybe a little if it is stolen and then used in a crime?

Nope. Texas law does not hold the victim of a crime to be responsible for the subsequent crimes of the perpetrator. I don't know chapter and verse, but I've seen it quoted here on this forum - a Texas gun owner is not subject to any criminal liability if their stolen gun is used in another crime.

My guess is that the same would be true about civil liability if your gun were stolen, used in another crime, found, traced back to your ownership, and then you were sued by the other victim's family for not having adequately secured your gun. I don't believe any Texas jury would buy that one.