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This week, a special report for your Global Gun News.

A smash and grab crew of thieves emptied display cases and a wall of rifles from a Houston gun store on Tuesday. A large truck ripped the barred doors off of Carter’s Country firearm store, allowing as many as ten suspects to flood in and run out with more than fifty firearms. Three individuals have been arrested, and authorities are still tracking down leads for the remaining seven.

Authorities mentioned that crimes like this are troubling, because with so many suspects you potentially have quite a few individuals illegally distributing guns. This could mean they end up in the streets, perpetuating violence, but many stolen guns end up being sold in pawn shops or gun stores. Authorities have had little success, as we’ve documented on this show, in stopping illegal gun trade and tracking weapons. They themselves tend to lose quite a few (has anyone forgotten operation “Fast and Furious,” the failed sting operation that netted Mexican cartel members all those firearms?).

Think about that: the feds – with all their information tracking and record keeping and resources – the feds can’t keep track of lost or stolen weapons. What then can a gun store owner do? Pawn shops have a system in place. Gun store owners have no access to any resources. We must rely purely on instincts as to whether or not we’ll purchase a gun. Even the best of us may end up purchasing a stolen gun. At best, that’s wasted resources for us. At worst, it’s involvement in an illegal transaction.

I’ve let my concerns be known to APD for years now. In response, they offer me several resources: call ATF, 911, or 311. All of these methods either do not yield useful information or are inappropriate for the information that I’m trying to procure. There is an APD Firearms Review email, which does not guarantee a prompt or effective response, or the APD Firearms Hotline…which is almost never answered by a human.

You would think that given Chief Art Acevedo’s strict opposition to…well, any and all guns, he would be gung-ho on finding a suitable method to thwart illegal gun transactions, particularly stolen guns, in his area. If his main concern is safety, then why not go all in for safety? [Clip here]

But, despite the rhetoric, Chief Acevedo is more concerned with appearing busy than actually solving the problem. Case in point: to this day, years after raising my concerns, I still have no way to work with authorities to catch individuals attempting to sell stolen guns. This not only puts the general public at risk, but I put myself in legal jeopardy every time I decide to buy a gun.

We need more action. I’ve been promised that the higher ups at APD will brainstorm on the issue. Brainstorming doesn’t solve my problem, or your problem. This is a safety issue – no brainstorming needed for that determination. It’s time something gets done, because all this brainstorming and placating isn’t making anyone safer. So where is the police chief going to stand?