Increasing Gun Store Security

2017 Assembly Bill 728 - Public hearing held in the Assembly Committee on Criminal Justice and Public Safety (2-14-18)

This legislation was introduced after an October 2017 gun shop burglary where a criminal drove a stolen car through a front window of a Cross Plains gun shop and got away with several firearms. The firearms were not secured inside the store, making it possible for the criminal to simply grab them and get out quickly. The Cross Plains break-in was similar to an April 2017 incident during which a Janesville gun shop was robbed of 18 guns and 2 silencers by an individual who smashed a glass door to gain entry. The man responsible has been convicted and sentenced to prison, but the firearms have not been recovered.

The bill, along with Assembly Subsitute Amendment 1, would add different options for gun store owners to ensure firearms are safe at night. Firearms must be secured using one of the following methods when the business is closed:

    1.  Secured in a locked fireproof safe, locked steel gun cabinet, or in a vault in the business premises.
    2. Stored in a steel frame display case with a hardened steel lock which is fitted either with smash-proof polycarbonate panels or with glass that is protected with a security or protective laminate film. If the location of the retail store is at street level, one of the following is also required:
      1. Concrete or hardened steel bollards, or other barriers such as security planters or other devices that protect the location's front entrance, any floor-to-ceiling windows, and any other doors that could be breached by a vehicle.
      2. Locking steel roll-down doors that are installed on all perimeter doors and floor-to-ceiling windows, unless the installation would violate a state or local fire code.
    3. Secured with a hardened steel rod or cable through the trigger guard of the firearm. If the location of the retail store is at street level, one of the following is also required:
      1. Concrete or hardened steel bollards, or other barriers such as security planters or other devices that protect the location's front entrance, any floor-to-ceiling windows, and any other doors that could be breached by a vehicle.
      2. Locking steel roll-down doors that are installed on all perimeter doors and floor-to-ceiling windows, unless the installation would violate a state or local fire code.
    4. Stored in a windowless room that is equipped with a steel security door fitted with a deadbolt lock and that does not have a door exposed to the outside of the building.
    5. Stored behind a steel roll-down door or security gate or secured in a locked steel gun rack by use of a hardened steel bar.


The Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) recently released their Summary of Firearms Reported Lost or Stolen from Federally Firearm Licensees for 2016.

18,394 firearms were reported lost or stolen from federally licensed dealers last year, averaging 50 guns per day. Of those, 9,281 were reported stolen, including 7,488 classified as burglaries described by ATF as “the unlawful entry of a structure to commit a felony or theft.”

Too often, large numbers of guns are left unsecured in the open or in glass cases when a gun shop is unattended. These shops are sitting targets for criminals who can break in and grab dozens of weapons then get away within just a few minutes, long before law enforcement can arrive in response to an alarm. This legislation would prevent criminals who break into a gun shop from simply walking off without impediment with as many handguns and rifles they can carry.

With gun violence on the rise in our community and mass shootings becoming all too commonplace, this is a simple measure to keep firearms off our streets and out of the hands of those intent to do harm.

Click here to view the status of this legislation.

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