Ed: Strengthen gun store security to close off armories for criminals [View all]

[HAB911]

The Florida Legislature made it illegal in 1989 for an adult to leave a firearm within reach of a child. It was the rare example of a courageous response to the devastation of gun violence from a body generally more interested in eliminating restrictions on carrying and using firearms. The powerful gun lobby didn't even resist. The measure served as a model for other states. It is now time to expand that move toward responsible gun ownership by requiring those who sell firearms to protect them so they won't serve as virtual armories for Florida's criminals.

Twice in one year, thieves broke into Tampa gun stores and made off with about 40 guns each time. Soon after the most recent break-in, Nov. 29, one of the guns was found with a teenager suspected in the shooting death of an Orlando mother as she sat in her car with her child.

Then last week, Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd took to his soapbox to scold store owners who shirk the "ethical and moral responsibility to secure their guns." Judd was disgusted at a theft — again, about 40 firearms — from Rapture Guns & Knives in Lakeland, a glass-fronted, strip-center store whose owner had just been warned by detectives about security.

Judd, after declaring his own libertarian leanings, questioned why the free market hasn't moved to hold gun store owners accountable for shoddy security practices. How do they get insurance, for example, or business loans?

http://www.tampabay.com/opinion/editorials/editorial-strengthen-gun-store-security-to-close-off-armories-for-criminals/2309538