Meijer, ALDI ask customers not to openly carry guns in stores

[A sign is seen outside the Meijer location at 5349 Pike Plaza Rd. in Indianapolis on June 28, 2018. (WTHR Photo/John Whalen)

WTHR.COM STAFF
WZZM
PUBLISHED: SEP 9TH, 2019 - 10:04PM (EDT)
UPDATED: SEP 11TH, 2019 - 3:48AM (EDT)

Meijer and ALDI announced Monday that they do not want customers to openly carry firearms in their grocery stores.

Meijer evaluated its policies after Walmart said last week it would stop selling handgun and short-barrel rifle ammunition and requested customers not openly carry firearms in its stores, even where state laws allow it.

Walmart came to the decision on the heels of several mass shootings, including one in El Paso that occurred at a Walmart store.

Twenty-two people were killed and 24 were injured in that shooting.

Meijer said in a tweet "The safety of our customers and team members is our top priority, so we respectfully request that our customers do not open carry firearms at Meijer."

Meijer

✔@meijer

The safety of our customers and team members is our top priority, so we respectfully request that our customers do not open carry firearms at Meijer. We’ve made this decision because open carry can create an environment that makes our customers and team members feel unsafe.

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Indiana is an open carry state. Meijer also has stores in open carry states such as Michigan, Wisconsin, Ohio and Kentucky.

"We’ve made this decision because open carry can create an environment that makes our customers and team members feel unsafe," the company said.

Meijer has 242 stores across the Midwest. It is headquartered in West Michigan.

ALDI later tweeted a statement announcing their decision.

ALDI USA

✔@AldiUSA

At ALDI, the safety of our employees, customers and the community is our highest priority. Alongside many other businesses, we are asking that our customers refrain from openly displaying firearms in any of our stores, except for authorized law enforcement personnel.

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Drug chains CVS and Walgreens, as well as Kroger, have also urged customers to refrain from carrying firearms in stores.

The National Rifle Association posted a tweet criticizing Walmart's announcement.

"It is shameful to see Walmart succumb to the pressure of the anti-gun elites. Lines at Walmart will soon be replaced by lines at other retailers who are more supportive of America's fundamental freedoms," it said.

https://www.wthr.com/article/meijer-...ry-guns-stores