From time to time we highlight some news items here about responsible gun owners who thwart crime by way of exercising their God given Second Amendment rights, but that really only tells one half of the story. Unfortunately, there are other tales out there across America – sadly, far too many to keep track of – where people react differently and things don’t go as well. This is one of those stories, and since I first saw it on Twitter it’s really gotten under my skin.

This event involves a couple in Annapolis, Maryland who were leaving their residence on some very important business. The girl was in the final weeks of pregnancy and had gone into labor. Her “boyfriend” went out with her to head to the hospital. That’s when things took a turn for the worse.

The couple was confronted by three men with guns as they left an apartment on Copeland Street early Sunday. When the woman’s boyfriend fled, police spokeswoman Cpl. Amy Miguez says, the suspects tried to get the woman to let them into an apartment, but she didn’t have a key.

That’s when two of the men took off in the woman’s car, Miguez says.

Because this took place in Maryland, the couple was unarmed. (Let’s face it… if you find anyone not wearing a police or military uniform in Annapolis who has a gun, odds are probably better than 99% that they’re a criminal.) So I can sympathize to a certain extent how alarmed they must have felt when confronted by three armed thugs. But the bothersome elements of this story don’t end with the bad guys or the lack of concealed carry permits in the state. Let’s revisit one phrase from the story.

When the woman’s boyfriend fled…

You ran away? While your girlfriend was standing there in labor facing down three armed hoodlums? This shoots right past the idea of whether or not you might have wanted to marry the girl after getting her in a family way (that’s a question for another day, but props for at least volunteering to go to the hospital), but having done so, how did you leave her there on the sidewalk while you bolted down the street? Yes, your safety was in danger, but for some people there comes a point in life where a man is put to a galvanizing test, and this was your moment.

Another phrase stands out.

the suspects tried to get the woman to let them into an apartment, but she didn’t have a key…

You not only abandoned her in the face of imminent violence, but you took the keys, too? She couldn’t even get back into your home. And once the car was stolen, she was essentially left on the sidewalk, wracked with labor pains. How does one wake up in the morning after delivering such a performance in a crisis and even look in the mirror?

I wish there was some overarching, positive message or lesson to take away from all this. Sadly, there is not. The good news is that the police later arrested two of the muggers and the woman made it to a local hospital. No word is available on the location or status of the “boyfriend.”