There’s a disturbing trend among would-be gun thieves. They will do anything to get their hands on guns that should never be in their possession. That’s everything, except obey the law and pass a background check.

These thieves will literally steal trucks and vans, drive them through a cinderblock wall and make off with dozens of firearms in seconds – all before police have a chance to respond to alarms. These thieves threaten the community when the firearms they steal are in the hands of criminals. They threaten the small businesses – the mom-and-pop shops that make up the majority of federal firearms licensees across America.

The trend is alarming not just in the shocking lengths to which criminals will go to illegally-obtain firearms but also who is committing these crimes. These criminals are younger – just teens – some with known gang ties. Police in Delaware announced the arrest of a 14-year-old in New Castle in May for allegedly stealing a flatbed truck and driving it through the wall of Millers gun shop, stealing 16 handguns from the six-decade old business. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) tells NSSF that these thefts are often part of gang initiation test. 

“It’s a violation to all of us and it’s obviously a public safety issue," said Bob Miller, the gun shop owner to NBC Philadelphia. Miller’s concern was that not all of the 16 handguns stolen were recovered. NSSF share those concerns.

Six men were charged in a nine-month spree of smash-and-grab burglaries of gun stores in Southern California. Those suspects – which included teens – also stole cars and ran them into stores, stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars in firearms. The last crime in their spree saw them victimize Fowler’s Gun Room in Orange, Calif., to steal 70 firearms. Authorities believe they were behind similar gun shop smash-and-grabs in seven other instances, nabbing nearly 250 guns total. 

Unfortunately, reports like these aren’t isolated. That’s why NSSF stepped up its assistance to firearm retailers to help deter or prevent these sorts of attacks.

Operation Secure Store

NSSF in partnership with ATF launched Operation Secure Store®. It’s just one part of NSSF’s Real Solutions. Safer Communities® initiatives to provide answers to the problems the firearm industry faces. Operation Secure Store (OSS) proactively educates federal firearms licensees (FFLs) in identifying and quantifying vulnerabilities and risks associated with the business of firearms commerce and industry-related operations as a whole. NSSF offers firearm retailers a free Risk and Security Self-Assessment Tool to begin to understand how firearm retailers can layer security to help stop these crimes.

Operation Secure Store started when ATF noticed a concerning trend and approached NSSF to help stem the problem. That led to OSS. ATF now responds to every burglary to work with the FFL and local law enforcement to ascertain the number of firearms stolen and put the information into the stolen gun database. This is not a compliance inspection. The ATF treats the FFL as what they are – a victim of a violent crime. ATF will also alert firearm retailers in the area to be on guard because these gangs will often victimize other local area gun shops, and even at times hit the same firearm retailer a second time.

For any firearm retailer, regardless if they are an NSSF member, a security consultant team is available to help with this. NSSF set up a hotline for any firearm retailer to get more information – 1-800-FLLNSSF. That’s not just for security questions, but also federal regulatory compliance questions, lead and noise Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) noise compliance questions and access to NSSF suicide prevention resources. 

NSSF, along with the ATF work to leverage resources to enhance public safety and reduce the impact to communities affected by these crimes. Those are typically layered approaches and tailored to the individual business. They can be as simple as adding smash-resistant film to display cases and as technical as real-time video surveillance and alarms. 

On top of that, NSSF partners with ATF to match reward offers up to $5,000 for information leading to arrest and conviction of the criminals that victimize these small business and big-box stores and threatens the communities. It’s the one check NSSF is glad to write because those are investments in community safety.

These programs work. The ATF’s 2023 data shows that OSS makes communities safer. The number of FFL burglaries and robberies and the number of stolen firearms are all lower than they were last year. The number of firearms stolen from firearm retailers dropped 65 percent in five years due to Operation Secure Store’s efforts. This is great news and the data continues a downward trend since 2017.

Politicians Punish Firearm Retailers

These Real Solutions are imperative because gun control politicians see these crimes as opportunities to punish firearm retailers with state-level laws that make it increasingly difficult and costly for small business owners. They want to treat the victim of the crime – the dealer – as the criminal and blame them for the crime committed by gangs. Washington state passed a law earlier this year that requires gun shop owners to have bars, grates and security screens on all windows and commercial-grade metal doors at each point of entry. The law mandates firearms be stored overnight in a fireproof safe. The state also requires security alarms systems monitored by a remote base that’s capable of notifying law enforcement and retain those recordings for seven years. Those systems must include motion and sound detectors. Those system also require monitoring of customers. 

Washington state isn’t alone in this. New York passed a similar law requiring firearms be stored in a locked fireproof safe or vault on the store’s premises during non-business hours. These “one-size-fits-all” requirements are often unaffordable to small businesses. 

Jason Rantz, a talk-show host for KTTH, called these requirements an effort “to put gun shops out of business with insurmountable, frivolous costs under the lie that it’s about public safety.” 

He’s not wrong. And it’s happening. Stan’s Merry Mart in Wenatchee, Wash., announced they would no longer sell firearms after 11 years in the business because of the new burdensome requirements. 

“It makes me sick that we’re exiting the business of firearms sales,” Brandon Wright told Source ONE News. “The 2nd Amendment is near and dear to my heart, but the reality is that these new requirements make it impossible for us to continue.”

FFL Protection Act

Instead of victimizing firearm businesses with costly security mandates, laws should be focused on holding criminals that commit these crimes to account with a sentence that shows America won’t tolerate these crimes. The criminals – including those teens – mentioned earlier all face potential sentences of up to 10 years in prison if convicted. NSSF is working with lawmakers to make that punishment more appropriate for the crime. 

The FFL Protection Act, introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives by U.S. Reps. John Rutherford (R-Fla.) and Henry Cuellar (D-Texas) as H.R. 2620 with 49 co-sponsors and introduced in the U.S. Senate by U.S Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) as S. 1907 with 22 co-sponsors. This legislation would double the statutory maximum penalty for stealing a firearm from an FFL inventory from 10 years to 20 years. This legislation would also impose a mandatory minimum sentence of three years for burglary of an FFL and five years for robbery of an FFL. Additionally, the FFL Protection Act would criminalize the attempted theft of a firearm from a licensed importer, manufacturer, dealer, or collector.

The NSSF-supported FFL Protection Act sends a strong message to those violent criminals engaging in these illicit activities and helps provide for safer communities, assists law enforcement and protects the livelihoods of firearm retailers.

Answers to preventing crimes and holding criminals accountable for the crime they commit must be as or more bold and determined than the criminals who smash stolen cars through building walls to make off with dozens to hundreds of firearms. NSSF’s Operation Secure Store and the FFL Protection Act are just two of those bold answers to protect small businesses from falling victim once again, this time to politicians looking to run them out of business.

Lawrence G. Keane is the Senior Vice President and General Counsel for NSSF, The Firearm Industry Trade Association.