It's interesting to hear of the differences in GS practices in different regions of the country. Around here we have lots of stores who have unlocked racks of rifles on the sales floor with unimpeded access for customers, and as far as I know, there haven't been any problems. Some stores don't do this, of course... and none of the big-box stores do, but the ones who do are either dedicated gun stores, or pawn shops with the majority of their stock being guns.
I can't think of any store of any kind that leaves its handguns with open access.
So glad I live in a firearms-friendly state.... not just for the lack of ridiculous laws, but for the common sense mindset of most of us.