In the placid and well off community of Orange Hills in Orange County:

“robbers forced their way into a home and tied up a family at gunpoint and then invaded a neighbor’s home as well.

“The incidents began about 9:30 p.m. Monday in the 300 block of Calle Grande in Orange Hills, an affluent community in the city of Orange. One of the victims told NBC-Los Angeles that a robber held a gun to her head as well as her family’s.

“The family was then tied up but managed to alert authorities when the woman’s husband escaped through a window and called police, CBS-Los Angeles reported.

“The incident lasted three hours, the woman told reporters at the scene Tuesday.

“But the robbers weren’t done. A neighbor’s home also was invaded and a man who lived there was either shot or stabbed in the hand, the man’s wife told KTLA-TV. The man was taken to the hospital for treatment, according to media reports.”

If these people had been armed, say with pump-action shotguns, they could have taken care of business. They also could have saved the taxpayers the cost of the trial and incarceration of these brutal criminals.

Citizen defense

In Texas, where guns sensibly are a big part of the culture, a woman showed how to take action:

“HOUSTON — A woman opened fire on a group of robbers at a local Denny’s restaurant.

“At around 4 a.m. Thursday, a man who does not want to be identified, said his brother was robbed by six men with guns at a Denny’s off the Gulf Freeway in southeast Houston.

“‘I don’t know if it was random or someone set him up. Because he got his own label,’ said the victim’s brother.

“His brother’s wife was in the restroom at the time, but when she exited the restroom she saw the group of suspected robbers. Police said that’s when she pulled out her gun and shot at them.

“‘She said she came out of the restroom and saw my brother on the floor. That’s when she started doing what she gotta do. She got a license and she’ll do anything to protect her kids and my brother,’ he said.

“Police said there was a shootout, but it is not known how many shots were fired at the time. However, police said the gunshots did hit cars in the parking lot.

“No bystanders or customers were injured.

“The group of suspects fled the scene.

“The married couple said they are still shook up, but their family said they’re glad they made it out alive.

“‘Self-defense saved my brother’s life,’ he said.

“According to police, the robbers got away with jewelry.”

The woman’s only mistake was not taking enough target practice prior to the incident.

In California, county sheriffs control conceal-weapons permits. Most county sheriffs, including in supposedly “conservative” Orange County, severely restrict conceal-carry permits. They leave us at the mercy of criminals — who, as these two incidents show, obviously can get guns easily, and don’t care about gun laws.

In any case, in California, for now, you still can get a gun and keep it at home. So get one, practice twice a month, and protect your family.

Lock and load.