MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Joe Cavallo considers himself a responsible gun owner, but a trend he is seeing disturbs him.
“I realized that there were numerous places I could not take my gun into. I was very uncomfortable leaving my gun not secure in a vehicle, even if that vehicle is locked.”
The number of guns being stolen from cars and trucks in Memphis got him thinking and looking for a box to secure his gun while in his vehicle.
“This particular one happens to be a cable that wraps around the car seat slide. I was able to secure my gun. Knowing that, I feel safe while I am not in the vehicle,” said Cavallo.
It may look like a tool box, but it protects your gun from criminals.
“Your gun or valuables are placed inside a box, locked up and then when they are unattended, the box cannot be removed from the vehicle,” said Cavallo.
The idea is that a thief breaking in your car is going to be moving fast. Fumbling with a lock box will hopefully slow them down and prove to be not worth their time.
“You can’t get this. You are not gonna get that out,” said Cavallo, pulling on the cable.
Cavello told WREG he believes in the product so much he has even started selling it.
“I initially just went to a gun show with a half of dozen of them. I sold out in 3 hours.”
People are starting to realize the alternative, he said.
“If somebody were to break into my truck, now I am responsible for a bad guy having a gun out there on the streets,” said Phillip Corlew, when we asked him his opinion on the lock box for guns in vehicles.
“If it could prevent guns from being stolen and placed in the wrong hands, it’s definitely worth pursuing,” said Bret Max of East Memphis.
Cavallo is now on a mission to get state lawmakers to make the box a requirement for guns that are kept in vehicles.
“Right now law requires basically the car to be locked and put in your glove compartment or console or trunk. It has nothing to do with additional locking or that second point locking mechanism.”
He hopes his push for a lock box gets traction during the next legislative session.
District Attorney Amy Weirich has been pushing for stronger gun safety laws, especially in light of recent crime numbers, that have steadily increased
In 2014, 473 guns were stolen from cars in Memphis.
That number increased to 615 in 2015, and 851 just last year.
“Common sense would tell you if our numbers of stolen guns from cars have almost doubled in the last two years, plus we have seen an increase in violent crime over the last 2 years, there has got to be a correlation,” said Weirich.
She said having guns in a locked box can be a deterrent for criminals.
“Anything and everything that we can do to stop that process, to keep that gun from somebody’s hand and to keep the next citizen of Shelby County from being a victim of violent crime.”
At a cost of around $50 for a lock box, Cavallo said it`s a small investment to help fight gun crimes.
“We gotta stop that. This won’t stop it completely, but it will sure slow it down.”