Hammond Indiana Gun Shop Burgled - Owner Feels Bad

[mikeb302000]

The Hammpond News reports on the incredibly fast recovery the owners of the Hammond Gun Shop made after a traumatic break-in. Just one day later, Deb Gales, the owner of the family owned business is open for business.

Burglars forced their way into the store about 4 a.m. Thursday in the 6800 block of Kennedy Avenue and stole 28 handguns. Officials at first believed 33 guns were stolen.

"They took out the whole front door," Gales said. "They smashed all our cases."

David Coulson, a senior special agent and ATF public information officer, said the federal agency has seen many stolen guns over the years end up in the hands of gang members and drug traffickers.

"It breaks my heart to know there are guns on the street that came from my store," said Gales, who has owned the business since 1993. "I've never had that before in all these years."

It seems on one, not the police, not the ATF, and certainly not Debbie herself, have any concept of shared responsibility. Whenever guns are stolen, the focus needs to be placed on the "victim" of the theft. The thieves are already gone, the horse is already out of the barn, so to speak, what needs to be determined is how responsible were the precautions taken to prevent the theft and how properly were the guns stored.

Guns stored in a glass display cases during the night are not responsibly secured. Jewelry stores and banks don't leave their valuable property in easily accessible places, neither should gun shops.

Video surveillance and other alarm systems need to be state-of-the-art. No one should be able to approach the front door of a gun shop at 4:00 a.m. without being immediately detected and captured on video.

But for all these mistakes and omissions all we get is that it breaks the heart of the owner, not enough to miss a days business, mind you, and certainly not enough to invest in the proper and responsible measures to ensure no repeat performance, but she felt really badly. I guess that's something.

What's your opinion? (cross posted at Mikeb302000)

[ManiacJoe]

1. You make a whole lot of assumptions based...

... on very few facts.

Makes for a great "fake outrage" piece though.

[friendly_iconoclast]

3. Apparently the thieves share no responsibility in this.

All ire is directed at the shop owner for some perceived failure of security.

We're not supposed to blame those who acquire guns illegally. It's the fault of legal owners, or those
*around* those who misuse guns or steal them or acquire them unlawfully - the poor things
just can't help themselves:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=118&topic_id=463781#463825

[ileus]

5. That's real poutrage he has going there...

[friendly_iconoclast]

2. My opinion is there are a couple of issues that need clearing up before we can talk any further:

Care to address them?

http://election.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=118x463908#463924

http://election.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=118x463908#463950

[ileus]

6. Oh...those are age old questions

[friendly_iconoclast]

12. True, but when a blatant contradiction like that goes unaddressed they need to be raised anew.

[one-eyed fat man]

4. Mikey likes thieves!

Mikey rants on gun owners who shoot thieves.

Mikey rants on gun owners who have guns stolen by thieves.

Mike does not like gun owners.

Mikey likes thieves because they provide him with another excuse to rant on gun owners.

What else do you need to know?

[ileus]

7. The name of his congressman.

[Glassunion]

8. That can be found here...

http://www.parlamento.it/

[PavePusher]

9. Mike, until you can present evidence to support your accusations....

and with your past history here, you look very much like a liar.

[petronius]

10. Blaming the victim of a crime, no matter the type of crime, is contemptible

After a crime occurs, it is reasonable and proper to engage in a post-mortem - to learn from the event, to examine ways in which the victim may have been abe to reduce the risk, to generate advice for others to avoid being victims. This type of analysis is often mistaken for 'blaming the victim.'

In contrast, to actually assign blame - responsibility - to the victim, as this opening post does, is reprehensible, no matter what sort of crime is being discussed...

[SteveW]

11. Oh, they're just PSPs, deserving of our affection, understanding, warm bed...

[rl6214]

13. Typical BS and blind blog linking from the man with no congressional representative.

Yet he demands so much.

[Nuclear Unicorn]

14. "The thieves are already gone, the horse is already out of the barn"

Are you proposing to ban the private ownership of horses to deter horse thieves?

[DissedByBush]

15. Another banner tactic

Make running a gun store so expensive that you put them out of business.

Every gun shop I've ever seen keeps their pistols in glass display cases. So she was following industry practice.

The article states the door was smashed. I have never seen the door to a gun shop that wasn't steel framed and with bars. I'd bet good money she had the same, industry practice.

Here we have a family business out of several thousand dollars of inventory and probably a couple thousand on display cases, and all you can think to do is blame them and their desire to get back in business to continue their family income.

"Jewelry stores and banks don't leave their valuable property in easily accessible places, neither should gun shops. "

Yes, jewelry stores do. Sure, some extremely valuable pieces may be moved to a vault, but they don't pack up their display cases every day. They're out for the passersby to see, but behind steel bars.

[Atypical Liberal]

16. Just how fortified does the store need to be?

Whenever guns are stolen, the focus needs to be placed on the "victim" of the theft. The thieves are already gone, the horse is already out of the barn, so to speak, what needs to be determined is how responsible were the precautions taken to prevent the theft and how properly were the guns stored.

It's hard to make out, but Google Street View seems to indicate that, just as I suspected, the gun store had bars over the windows and doors of the brick-fronted store.

Just how fortified does the building need to be?

How much effort should a thief have to go to to steal before we can blame the thief instead of the shop keeper?

[ileus]

17. He never even showed up to discuss his own cause.

What does that tell people here?

[Glassunion]

18. What time is it in Italy?

Maybe he is not at work.