Police in Aynor, SC are on the hunt for the perpetrators of a gun store robbery in the town after Rivertown Auction Company and Gun Store was broken into Saturday morning. The owner, Blake Burris, claims every case in the store was busted, but not all the guns were taken.

That indicates the thieves knew what they were after, though not necessarily that it was an inside job.

The Post and Courier notes that among the stolen guns were some AR-variants and handguns. You know, the things that are most likely to move on the black market.

Burris said he has video of the thieves arriving at the store, but then the power was cut, killing the video.

Burris said he suspects the thief or thieves were in that vehicle and cut the power to the building before breaking into the store entrance that faces U.S. 501.

Horry County police were called to the store when the break-in was discovered around 9 a.m. Saturday, according to Krystal Dotson, spokeswoman with Horry County police.

Police say the suspect or suspects had forced their way inside the store, Dotson said.

The ATF is offering a $2,000 reward for information on the case.

The shattered cases have since been repaired and Rivertown Auction is back open for business, he said.

I hate seeing this, and not just because I know how hard it is to keep any business afloat. Nor is it just because I hate to see anyone be the victim of a crime.

While both of those are certainly true, what really bothers me is how these guns are now out on the street where they can be used to harm the innocent. Those acts will then be used to try and curtail the law-abiding people’s access to firearms.

What can be done about it?

While lawmakers are looking to make demands, it might be a good idea for the gun stores to adopt their own standards well beforehand. After all, they know they’re going to be a target. Why not try and preempt new federal or state regulations while protecting your inventory by adopting some protective measures now?

It’s obvious that locking up every gun at night is a ridiculous suggestion, but perhaps a rubberized steel cable, the kind designed to make it virtually impossible to cut, can be threaded through trigger guards to secure long guns in place. Shatter-proof glass for handgun cases, coupled with locks in the rear of the case could make it more difficult for thieves to get in that way.

You’re never going to stop a determined thief. However, you can make it difficult for the crooks, and that might be enough to make them forget about hitting gun stores. After all, they have just minutes to conduct their raid on the inventory, and if it’ll take more than that to actually get access to it, well…

Further, I can’t help but think that it’s only a matter of time before more and more states start enacting such regulations on gun stores anyway. The only way to prevent that is to make the problem stop as best you can. It’s better that we, people who actually care about guns and want to see them available for private citizens, have this discussion rather than lawmakers. Most of them have never even set foot in a gun store, much less understand the ramifications of these regulations.

By dealing with the problem proactively, you prevent them from passing rules that are ostensibly about keeping guns out of crooks’ hands, but really about trying to drive gun stores out of business. After all, if people can’t get their hands on guns, there’s no need to pass gun control itself.