the world just isn't the same anymore,,,
Once upon a time, in a land known for its freedom(s), a majority of the gun-owning populace had such cabinets, proudly displaying their fine arms, yet keeping them as secure as they needed to be. These people were actually proud of their arms and weren't afraid to keep them all right out there in the Living Room, Family Room or Den so that all the world that entered their homes could oooh and aaaah at the collection they had acquired.
Kids knew not to mess with them for fear of getting their little butts whooped (and they would... and did) and very little damage was wrought on that society as a result of such displaying of arms.
Then... bad things happened. A black cloud fell over societal thinking. Leaders had been assassinated. Something had to be done.
Somehow, somewhere there was a shift in that societes thinking process whereby the owners of these displayed arms died off and the ownership of said rifles, etc became a "dirty little secret".
Some Kids, knowing better, but enjoying being bad, got ahold of one or two of them and did nefarious things which made the newspapers proud to print such stories. Local legislaters decided that new laws had to be passed mandating that all such arms be kept locked up. Kids continued to get "badder" and do "stupider" things. Burglaries, while not really on the uptake, became normal to read about in the news.
And it was decided by some, it was ALL THE GUN'S FAULT. So... owners of guns went to putting their collections into steel boxes with no windows, and stronger locks. People weren't quick to point out that they had a collection from their grandfathers and fathers passed down to them.
Some countries actually specified what types of boxes were OK and which weren't. They actually had their police forces enter your homes to inspect the manner in which these guns were stored.
So you see 280, its a sad story of the decline of proudly displayed arms in the homes of free people that caused the demise of such furniture in America today.
I remember when Sears, Monkey Wards and JC Penneys all had arms and arms holding furniture for sale in their catalogs... way back when. And people actually bought them and had them delivered by truck to their homes.
But this is ancient history we're talking about. Musta been, what, 40 years ago? KMart is just a tad bit behind the times I reckon.
Adios