Thread: Walmart to stop selling handgun ammo, asks customers not to open carry

Walmart to stop selling handgun ammo, asks customers not to open carry

Today 12:20 PM


AP FILE - In this Aug. 6, 2019 file photo, Antonio Basco cries beside a cross at a makeshift memorial near the scene of a mass shooting at a shopping complex, in El Paso, Texas. Basco, whose 63-year-old wife was among the Texas mass shooting victims says he has no other family and welcomes anyone wanting to attend her services in El Paso. Margie Reckard was among 22 people fatally shot on Aug. 3 at a the Walmart. Reckard and Basco were married 22 years. (AP Photo/John Locher, File)

By The Associated Press

Walmart says it will discontinue the sale of handgun ammunition and also publicly request that customers refrain from openly carrying firearms in stores even where state laws allow it.

The announcement comes just days after a mass shooting claimed seven lives in Odessa, Texas and follows two other back-to-back shootings last month, one of them at a Walmart store.

The Bentonville, Arkansas-based discounter said Tuesday it will stop selling short-barrel and handgun ammunition after it runs out of its current inventory. It will also discontinue handgun sales in Alaska, marking its complete exit from handguns and allowing it to focus on hunting rifles and related ammunition only.

"We have a long heritage as a company of serving responsible hunters and sportsmen and women, and we're going to continue doing so," according to a memo by Walmart's CEO Doug McMillon that will be circulated to employees Tuesday afternoon.

Walmart is further requesting that customers refrain from openly carrying firearms at its stores unless they are law enforcement officers. Last month, a gunman entered a Walmart store in El Paso, Texas and killed 22 people using an AK-style firearm that Walmart already bans the sale of. Texas became an open carry state in 2016, allowing people to openly carry firearms in public.

Walmart's moves will reduce its market share of ammunition from around 20% to a range of about 6% to 9%, according to Tuesday's memo. About half of its more than 4,000 U.S. stores sell firearms.

The nation's largest retailer has been facing increasing pressure to change its gun policies by gun control activists, employees and politicians after the El Paso shooting and a second unrelated shooting in Dayton, Ohio that killed nine people. A few days before that, two Walmart workers were killed by another worker at a store in Southaven, Mississippi.

In the aftermath of the El Paso shooting, Walmart ordered workers to remove video game signs and displays that depict violence from stores nationwide. But that fell well short of demands for the retailer to stop selling firearms entirely. Critics have also wanted Walmart to stop supporting politicians backed by the National Rifle Association.

The retailer has long found itself in an awkward spot with its customers and gun enthusiasts. Many of its stores are located in rural areas where hunters are depend on Walmart to get their equipment. Walmart is trying to walk a fine line by trying to embrace its hunting heritage while being a more responsible retailer.

With its new policy on "open carry," McMillon noted in his memo that individuals have tried to make a statement by carrying weapons into its stores just to frighten workers and customers. But there are well-intentioned customers acting lawfully who have also inadvertently caused a store to be evacuated and local law enforcement to be called to respond.

He says Walmart will continue to treat "law-abiding customers with respect" and it will have a "non-confrontational approach."

Walmart says it hopes to use its weight to help other retailers by sharing its best practices like software that it uses for background checks. And the company, which in 2015 stopped selling assault rifles like the AR-rifles used in several mass shootings, urged more debate on the reauthorization of the assault weapons ban.

McMillon says Walmart will send letters to the White House and the Congressional leadership that calls for action on these "common sense" measures.

"In a complex situation lacking a simple solution, we are trying to take constructive steps to reduce the risk that events like these will happen again," McMillon wrote in his memo. "The status quo is unacceptable."

Over the last 15 years, Walmart had expanded beyond its hunting and fishing roots, carrying items like assault rifles in response to increasing demand. But particularly since 2015, often coinciding with major public mass shootings, the company has made moves to curb the sale of ammunition and guns.

Walmart announced in February 2018 that it would no longer sell firearms and ammunition to people younger than 21 and also removed items resembling assault-style rifles from its website. Those moves were prompted by the mass shooting at a high school in Parkland, Florida, that killed 17 people.

In 2015, Walmart stopped selling semi-automatic weapons like the AR-15 style rifle, the type used in the Dayton shooting. The retailer also doesn't sell large-capacity magazines, handguns (except in Alaska) or bump stocks, nor the AK-style firearm that was used by the El Paso shooter.

In the mid-1990s, Walmart stopped selling handguns with the exception of Alaska.

https://www.al.com/news/2019/09/walm...pen-carry.html

Kroger joins Walmart in asking shoppers not to openly carry guns in stores

PUBLISHED 2 HOURS AGO UPDATED 2 HOURS AGO

Lauren Thomas@LAURENTHOMAS

KEY POINTS

• Kroger joins Walmart in asking shoppers not to openly carry guns in any of its stores.
• The announced changes come amid a wave of deadly shootings in the U.S., including two at Walmart stores earlier this summer.

Customers pump gasoline at a Kroger gasoline station in the parking lot of one of the company’s grocery stores in Worthington, Ohio in 2006.
Gary Gardiner | Getty Images


Kroger on Tuesday followed Walmart in asking shoppers not to openly carry guns in any of its stores, in states where “open carry” is allowed, unless they are authorized law enforcement officers.

The announced changes come amid a wave of deadly shootings in the U.S., including two at Walmart stores this summer.

Both companies are also calling on the government to strengthen background checks.

“Kroger is respectfully asking that customers no longer openly carry firearms into our stores, other than authorized law enforcement officers,” Jessica Adelman, group vice president of corporate affairs, said in an emailed statement. “We are also joining those encouraging our elected leaders to pass laws that will strengthen background checks and remove weapons from those who have been found to pose a risk for violence.”

“A year ago, Kroger made the conscious decision to completely exit the firearm and ammunition business when we stopped selling them in our Fred Meyer stores in the Pacific Northwest,” she also said. “Kroger has demonstrated with our actions that we recognize the growing chorus of Americans who are no longer comfortable with the status quo and who are advocating for concrete and common sense gun reforms.”

After a shooting in Parkland, Florida, in 2018, Kroger said its Fred Meyer stores would stop selling firearms to buyers under 21.

https://www.cnbc.com/2019/09/03/krog...in-stores.html

Walgreens asks customers not to openly carry guns in its stores, joining Walmart and Kroger


By Clare Duffy, CNN Business
Updated 1:35 PM ET, Thu September 5, 2019

New York (CNN Business)Walgreens is asking customers to no longer openly carry guns into its stores, the company announced Thursday.

It joins fellow retailers Walmart (WMT) and Kroger (KR), which announced similar policies the day before.

Companies have come under increasing pressure to take action to prevent gun violence, after a spate of mass shootings in recent weeks, including one inside a Walmart store in El Paso, Texas.

This is a developing story. It will be updated.

https://www.cnn.com/2019/09/05/busin...rry/index.html

CVS, Wegmans Join Retailers In Asking Customers Not To Openly Carry Guns

(Updated: 3:13 p.m. EST, 9/5/2019). Topline: Walgreens, CVS and Wegmans changed their open carry polices Thursday and are now asking customers to ...
1 hour ago

SEPTEMBER 7, 2019 / 1:56 PM / UPDATED 4 HOURS AGO

Albertsons Companies joins supermarkets in changing guns policy

(Reuters) - Supermarket operator Albertsons Companies said on Saturday it would ask customers not to openly carry firearms at its stores, joining an array of retailers and store chains this week who changed their gun policy in light of several mass shootings in the United States.

"We want our stores to feel safe & welcoming for all, so we respectfully ask customers to not openly carry firearms in our stores unless they are authorized law enforcement officers," the company said in a tweet bit.ly/2HPH03R.

The announcement comes as other retailers such as Walmart Inc (WMT.N) and Kroger Co (KR.N) tweaked their gun policy, with Walmart saying it would discontinue sales of ammunition for handguns and some assault-style rifles in stores across the United States.

Albertson Companies operates stores across 34 U.S. states, according to the company website.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-a...-idUSKCN1VS0QF

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Publix joins retailers asking customers not to openly carry guns into its stores

By Clare Duffy, CNN Business
Updated 5:18 PM ET, Wed September 11, 2019

New York (CNN Business)Publix is joining the growing number of retailers asking that customers no longer openly carry guns in their stores in states where open carry is legal.

With its new policy, the supermarket chain follows the lead of Walmart (WMT), Kroger (KR), CVS (CVS) and other retailers who made similar announcements last week. The moves come after recent mass shootings in California, Texas and Ohio.

"Publix respectfully requests that only law enforcement officials openly carry firearms in our stores," the company said in a statement Wednesday.

The company is one of the largest grocery store chains the country, with more than 200,000 employees and 1,226 stores across the southeastern United States.

While it is headquartered in Florida, which does not permit open carry, Publix has a large presence in states that do allow people to openly carry guns, such as Georgia and Alabama.



In major shift, Walgreens and CVS ask customers to leave their guns outside

Walmart last week it would ask customers not to openly carry gun in its stores, and also said it will reduce gun and ammunition sales. Within days, at least seven companies followed suit, representing a major shift in the way retailers are positioning themselves in the gun debate.

While it's unclear how these companies will enforce the no-open carry requests, advocates say the move will make shoppers feel safer and sends a message to lawmakers that corporations support some gun control measures.

"In some communities, you'd go to a Walmart and someone walks by with a handgun holstered, and it sets you back for a minute, it's jarring," Ed Scruggs, president of the advocacy group Texas Gun Sense, said last week. "After what happened in El Paso, to walk into a Walmart and see someone open carrying, that is always going to take you back to that. So it makes a lot of sense for them to do this. I wish others would follow their lead."

In lieu of governmental policy changes, many customers, employees and advocates have pressured corporations to take action to stem gun violence as mass shootings continue to devastate America.

Publix last year faced similar advocacy. David Hogg, a student activist from the Parkland high school that was the site of a mass shooting that killed 17 and injured 17 more, called for a "die-in" at the grocery store to protest its support for a Florida gubernatorial candidate backed by the National Rifle Association. After the protest, Publix said at the time it would suspend political contributions as it reevaluated its giving policy.

In the past week, the following companies have announced they will ask customers not to openly carry guns in their stores: Walmart, Kroger, Walgreens, CVS, Wegmans, Aldi US, Meijer, Publix.
https://www.cnn.com/2019/09/11/busin...rry/index.html

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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2:00 PM - Sep 9, 2019
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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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3:32 PM - Sep 9, 2019
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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

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