U.S.A. –-(Ammoland.com)- Walmart has given into the anti-gun movement and will stop selling handgun ammunition, and .223/5.56 caliber ammunition. They have also asked their customers to stop open carrying in their stores.
The decision came after weeks of pressure from anti-gun groups who used the shooting in an El Paso, Texas Walmart as an excuse to push their agenda on the retail giant. According to Walmart CEO Doug McMillon, the chain will also put pressure on Congress to change gun laws.
“It’s clear to us that the status quo is unacceptable,” McMillon said in a memo to employees on Tuesday.
McMillon said he was avoiding alienating customers on both sides of the gun debate. A goal that gun-rights activist said the company has severely missed.
“We will treat law-abiding customers with respect, and we will have a very non-confrontational approach,” McMillon said. “Our remaining assortment will be even more focused on the needs of hunting and sport shooting enthusiasts.”
Gun owners do not see Walmart’s decision as treating them respect. By pushing the Government to take away its customer’s rights, it seems that Walmart is disrespecting their customers.
Walmart sees its decision as a way of balancing their customer’s rights with the safety of their customers and workers. Walmart did not go into any detail on how stopping the sales of certain ammunition keeps customers and employees safe.
Gun Owners of America Senior Vice President Erich Pratt thinks those that decided to stop selling the ammunition do not understand guns and firearms usage. The leadership at Walmart ignored the defensive usage of firearms and incorrectly use the term “SBR” in multiple places leading many to wonder if the company knows what is an SBR.
“It is disappointing to see WalMart ignoring the fact that guns are used more often to save lives than to take life,” Pratt told AmmoLand via email. “Their decision to restrict gun and ammunition sales will have the opposite effect and will not make people safer.”
“Moreover, their statement that they are discontinuing the sales of ‘short barrel rifle ammo’ is just amateurish, because there is no such thing as ‘short barrel rifle ammo.’ There is just ammunition. And any ammo that can fit in a ‘long-barreled rifle’ can also fit in a ‘short-barreled rifle.'”
“Speaking of ‘short-barreled rifles,’ any rifle that has a barrel of less than 16″ is considered an SBR (a Short-Barreled Rifle) and is HIGHLY REGULATED by the Federal Government under the NFA (National Firearms Act). I believe that I can accurately say that there is NO WALMART IN THE NATION that is selling SBRs. So, it seems that the people making the policy decisions at Walmart have virtually no familiarity with firearms or ammunition.”
Walmart currently sells 20% of all ammunition in the country. The companies own forecast has this number dropping to 6% to 9% once the stores deplete their current stock.
Walmart will also stop selling handguns in Alaska. Alaska is the only state that Walmart still sells handguns. In the Alaskan wilderness, residents see handguns as a necessity to remain safe.
In the months after the New Town shooting, Bloomberg-backed, anti-gun groups pressured Walmart to stop selling the ever-popular AR-15 sporting rifle. Gun-rights advocates see the Walmart decision as bending to the pressure of well-funded anti-gun lobby groups.
Walmart did not return AmmoLand’s request for comment.
About John Crump
John is a NRA instructor and a constitutional activist. He is the former CEO of Veritas Firearms, LLC and is the co-host of The Patriot News Podcast which can be found at www.blogtalkradio.com/patriotnews. John has written extensively on the patriot movement including 3%’ers, Oath Keepers, and Militias. In addition to the Patriot movement, John has written about firearms, interviewed people of all walks of life, and on the Constitution. John lives in Northern Virginia with his wife and sons and is currently working on a book on leftist deplatforming methods and can be followed on Twitter at @crumpyss, on Facebook at realjohncrump, or at www.crumpy.com.
“In the Alaskan wilderness, residents see handguns as a necessity to remain safe.” No kidding. Guess what? The people in the rest of the country need handguns to remain safe as well, and the inexpensive practice ammo that we used to be able to get from Walmart. Thanks for leaving us out in the cold, Walmart. Thanks for not giving a crap about anyone but your leftist masters and their pistol-armed security personnel. No more purchases from Walmart for my family. You are done, as far as we are concerned. But we will remember you, when the time comes.
Will Walmart now stop selling tires to prevent drunk driving deaths?
I reload my ammo, so haven’t bought any at Walmart. Over 1500 rounds of .22LR from last year Black Friday at Bass Pro. Last year I bought a Savage/Stevens 20 Gauge because it was only $130. Before they changed the age policy I bought a few rifles from them but no longer have those. Sold them to buy parts to build ARs. Anyway, the closest 3 Walmarts to me are 40 to 50 mile round trips, so local or online shopping from now on. I guess Amazon will be getting more business from me, free shipping in most cases and… Read more »
I never got that much from Walmarts anyway! Here is another good article on this to read! https://freedomwire.com/walmart-stops-selling-ammunition-and-handguns/
Like Dick’s Walmart will never see my cash again. I see where Kroger’s has also banned open carry in its stores. I for one do not open carry as I don’t feel the need to advertise my business to low lifes who shop the same places I do however the list of anti America businesses is going to grow because of this. In the end we all know where all this is going so the inevitability looms large. After much thought I always arrive at the same conclusion….prepare.
Walmart has hurt a lot of “American” businesses and since they stopped the “Buy American products” years ago, has become nothing more than China Headquarters, and Sweet Shop Haven… In case anyone just crawled out from under a bolder today, you can get ammo and guns online a lot cheaper than Walmart… Which is probably why they want to give up selling them anyway cause the manufacturers would not put them on their shelves on consignment and at a cheaper price than they sell to everyone else, the two requirements that Walmart always wants sellers to do… One thing you… Read more »