Readers Respond: Selling guns, preventing robberies

In yesterday's HCN Monday, an article under the headline "Forty guns stolen from Georgia hardware store" raised the question: What are the gun seller's responsibilities when it comes to preventing theft?

Here's what we heard from our readers:

"After reading the article above, sounds like he did everything he could do. Alarm system that alerted police and a security camera to aid in their apprehension. I will bet you more guns are stolen from homes every day. What do they do to protect us?"

— John Stokes

"Their responsibility is immense.

“As an NRA member, gun collector, avid shooter and former store clerk/manager at a mass merchant retailer that sold guns here in Oregon, I am of the opinion that the rules should be something like what Bi-Mart stores had in place when I worked there some years ago. The procedures were fairly intense: Remove handguns from vault and inventory every morning before putting them on display -- remove from display, inventory and put back in vault at end of every day. Rifles and shotguns were locked in special gun racks, and all trigger guards were woven with a security cable.

“The store was alarmed of course, and the vault was a secure room in the center of the store. It would have been difficult -- not impossible -- for any after-hours robbers of the store to get at the firearms in that room. During the day, the firearms display cases remained locked and the counter attended at all times by an employee.

"I can’t ever remember a gun being stolen. It was a simple matter of sensible mechanical security measures combined with employee vigilance.”

— Chris Clements

Portland, Ore. 

"All of [the store's] goods were in a locked store with an alarm. The retailer has taken sufficient measures to secure the merchandise. Why should inanimate objects, capable of doing great bodily harm, in the hands of criminals, be treated differently than any other potentially dangerous product? Yes, I'm talking about hammers and carpet knives, here.

“Point made, I hope."

— Doug Klick