PORTSMOUTH — Police are calling on state legislators to help them address a yearslong issue by making it a crime for firearm owners to leave their guns in unlocked vehicles.
Included in Portsmouth’s legislative wish list approved last month is a request from local police for state legislators to create a class 2 misdemeanor charge when firearms are left in an unlocked vehicle.
A class 2 misdemeanor charge carries a penalty of up to six months in jail and/or a fine of up to $1,000. Other examples of class 2 misdemeanors in Virginia include aggressive driving or driving without a valid license.
If the proposal is taken up next session and passed, Portsmouth Police Chief Stephen Jenkins said it won’t fully address gun violence concerns, but it could help. Between November 2022 and mid-November 2025, Portsmouth police say 416 firearms have been reported stolen from vehicles. The number is presumed to be higher as not everyone reports a stolen gun, Jenkins said. Of the firearms that were recovered, 17 crimes involved firearms stolen from vehicles “without attached destruction,” meaning the vehicle was assumed to have been unlocked.
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“The spirit of it is we want people to be more responsible. (The) goal here is not to prosecute law-abiding citizens and make owning the firearm a criminal offense,” Jenkins said. “We got to make things a little bit more difficult than just leaving something as dangerous as a firearm in a vehicle, and folks just being able to go and check your door.”
The idea isn’t new — similar attempts have previously failed — but it could be successful in the 2026 legislative session when Democrats will hold control of the legislature and governor’s office. In 2024, both the Virginia House and Senate passed a bill to issue a $500 civil penalty for gun owners who leave handguns on a car seat or other visible areas. The bill did not differentiate between locked or unlocked vehicles. Votes were along party lines with Democrats in support. Gov. Glenn Youngkin, a Republican, vetoed the measure.
In his veto message, Youngkin said the legislation would have penalized law-abiding Virginians who were crime victims.
“The culpability is on the criminal who stole the firearm,” Youngkin wrote. “The Commonwealth should prioritize prosecution and severe punishment for individuals who commit crimes.”
Portsmouth’s request for legislation follows years of public awareness campaigns from the department urging residents to securely lock their firearms and consider using lockboxes. Jenkins said the department has reminded residents of the concern over the years in his quarterly forums, through social media and other public venues.
Jenkins said stolen guns flow in and out of surrounding cities, but sometimes across state lines.
“We do have instances throughout Hampton Roads and here in Portsmouth where juveniles, young kids, just go through neighborhoods checking doors,” he said. “We have that situation happen a whole lot more than we have juveniles just running down the street breaking windows.”
Though the new legislation could help deter the issue, police worry it could also lead to fewer people reporting stolen firearms.
“What would be most helpful in aiding an already declining crime rate in Portsmouth is for folks to secure their guns, slow down, and lock their vehicles as soon as they exit,” the department said in a statement.
Natalie Anderson, 757-732-1133, natalie.anderson@virginiamedia.com
https://www.pilotonline.com/2025/12/06/portsmouth-guns-in-unlocked-cars/
