Editorial: When it comes to Eastpointe gun in unlocked car law, it's more about common sense

(FOX 2) - BY: Greg Easterly, WJBK-TV FOX 2 General Manager

A new gun ordinance at Eastpointe is causing quite a stir.

The law is aimed at people who keep unsecured firearms in unlocked vehicles. Offenders can be fined $350 on the first offense and face up to 90 days in jail on the second one. 

There is a lot you can debate on this one and the city is hearing all of it: It's unconstitutional. It punishes gun owners, not criminals. It's impractical to enforce and hardly a deterrent for someone looking to steal something from a car.

Now, according to the city, over the past three years, 60 guns were stolen from cars and a majority of those vehicles were left unlocked, and many of those guns are likely to have been used to commit a crime. 

Rather than debate whether the law is good, bad or constitutional, let's talk about the common sense issue. People don't seem to have much of a problem keeping a valuable and potentially dangerous firearm in an unlocked vehicle. But they do have a problem using door locks.

Whether it's a gun, cell phone, loose change or the vehicle itself, it seems to reason you will more likely to have something stolen, if you don't lock your car. 

As for this Eastpointe law, a pro-gun rights group is already suing the city. I won't be surprised if it's eventually struck down. But if this law's very existence encourages folks to use common sense in the meantime, so be it. 

And to take creative license from the governor, lock your damn car.