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"We don't serve their kind here."
The bartender at the Mos Eisley Cantina makes it clear to Luke that Threepio and Artoo have to wait outside. With such upstanding citizens as the Jawas around, I know I wouldn't feel safe leaving my droids unattended.
Why then does the bartender (or possibly his employer) think it's okay to make potential customers leave their droids outside? What is the rationale?
That was intended to be an allegory for segregation in the United States, but the in-universe explanation, used in several Expanded Universe sources, such as when droid bounty hunter 4-LOM visits a bar during The Bounty Hunter Wars trilogy, is that droids don't drink alcohol. They would therefore be taking up seats that could be given to paying customers.
As for safety, Jawas are never shown to steal. They're scammers, not thieves. Most droids are also capable of screaming for help, and there are security forces patrolling Mos Eisley constantly. There is very little risk that a droid will be stolen outside such a popular business on a busy thoroughfare. Still, it would be safer if the droids were put in a pen or a locker.
