Gun stores would be required to make sure their stock is locked up at night, under legislation being proposed at the state Capitol.
The bill from state Representative Lisa Subeck (D-Madison) follows a break-in at a Cross Plains gun store last week, in which thieves backed a stolen vehicle into the business in the middle of the night and quickly grabbed an undisclosed number of weapons. “I was surprised by how easy it is for a criminal to be able to break into a gun shop,” she says. “To be able to break a glass window, go in, and literally just grab firearms.”
Subeck’s bill would require federally licensed firearms dealers with a physical store to lock-up their weapons when the business is closed. Those weapons could be stored in a steel gun cabinet or safe, or held down with a secure rod or cable that can’t be easily removed.
“When you’re in the business of selling weapons that can be dangerous, certainly you have a responsibility to…secure those items and keep them out of the hands of individuals who intend to do harm,” she argues.