CEO says “status quo is unacceptable”
Walmart on Tuesday announced it will no longer sell ammunition for handguns and short-barrel rifles once it runs through its current inventory. The company will also stop selling handguns in Alaska, which is the only remaining state where it sells them.
Short-barrel rifle ammunition such as the .223 caliber and 5.56 caliber is commonly used in some hunting rifles but can also be used in large capacity clips on military-style weapons, the company explains.
The world’s largest retailer is also asking its customers not to openly carry firearms into its stores or Sam’s Clubs in states where “open carry” is permitted – unless they’re authorized law enforcement officers. There have been several recent incidents in which customers openly carried guns into stores, frightening customers and staff and, in at least one instance, causing a store to be evacuated and law enforcement called to respond.
Customers with concealed carry permits will still be allowed to carry guns into Walmart-owned properties.
Stores will continue to sell long barrel deer rifles and shotguns. They’ll also carry much of the ammunition for those guns as Walmart focuses more on the needs of hunters and sports shooting enthusiasts.
“We will never be the same”
The move comes one month after 22 people were killed in a mass shooting at a Walmart in El Paso, Texas, and after a Walmart employee in Southaven, Mississippi, shot to death two co-workers.
In announcing the policy changes Walmart CEO Doug McMillon said, “We know these decisions will inconvenience some of our customers, and we hope they will understand. As a company, we experienced two horrific events in one week, and we will never be the same.”
McMillon also mentioned the recent mass shootings in Dayton, Ohio, and Midland and Odessa, Texas, when unveiling the policy changes. “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. The status quo is unacceptable.”
READ Walmart CEO’s full statement here
While Walmart does not consider itself among the top three gun sellers in the industry, it estimates it has about a 20% market share of ammunition sales. McMillon said these changes will reduce its market share from around 20% to between 6% and 9%. “We believe it will likely drift toward the lower end of that range, over time, given the combination of these changes,” he said.
Walmart previously stopped selling handguns and military-style rifles, raised the age limit to buy guns and ammunition to 21, and imposed stricter background check requirements at its stores. The company is now urging lawmakers to strengthen the nation’s gun laws.
