Even if our federal government won’t make changes to gun laws, rules and regulations, retailers will. Big-box store Walmart became the latest Wednesday when it announced that it will no longer sell guns and ammunition to anyone under the age of 21.
The company also made the decision to remove any items resembling assault rifles from its website. Walmart’s announcement follows a similar one made by sporting goods giant Dick’s, which announced earlier Wednesday that it would stop selling firearms to people under the age of 21. While Dick’s did not say it would restrict the sale of ammunition, it did say it would immediately stop selling assault-style rifles and high-capacity magazines.
Dick’s said that “thoughts and prayers are not enough” in the aftermath of the Feb. 14 shooting massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., and implored elected officials to “enact commonsense gun reform.”
The wave of corporations calling for more restrictions and tougher gun laws comes in the wake of the Parkland shooting, which left 17 people dead and many others injured.
Many corporations, including MetLife, Hertz and Delta Air Lines, have cut ties with the National Rifle Association in the wake of the shooting.
Dick’s acknowledged that it sold the accused Parkland shooter a gun in November 2017, and although it was not the gun or even type of gun used in the shooting, the company said, “it could have been.”
Walmart reviewed its company firearm sales policy in light of that shooting and said in a statement that it takes “seriously our obligation to be a responsible seller of firearms.” The company said it has a heritage of “serving sportsmen and hunters,” and it will “continue to do so in a responsible way.”