The CEO of Walmart announced today that he will advocate for a debate on “reauthorization of the Assault Weapons ban,” a federal law that was in effect from 1994 until 2004. He also said that his company’s stores will no longer sell handgun ammunition and that shoppers openly carrying firearms are no longer welcome in Walmart stores.
CEO Doug McMillon announced these changes, among others, in an open letter to employees. Citing recent shootings at Walmart stores in Southhaven, Mississippi, in which two employees were killed, and in El Paso, in which 22 people were killed, among other mass shootings, McMillon said, “the status quo is unacceptable.”
The Arkansas-based executive said his decision came after consulting concerned people both inside and outside the company who think that Walmart could play a role in “helping to make the country safer.”
McMillon wrote, “We encourage our nation’s leaders to move forward and strengthen background checks and to remove weapons from those who have been determined to pose an imminent danger. We do not sell military-style rifles, and we believe the reauthorization of the Assault Weapons ban should be debated to determine its effectiveness.”
The Walmart boss added that the country also must “do more… to understand the root causes that lead to this type of violent behavior,” and he disclosed that he sent letters today to the White House and Congressional leaders calling for action “on these common sense measures.”
Policy changes announced by McMillon today will impact Texan shoppers because Texas law allows licensed gun owners to carry a holstered handgun into business establishments unless the business has posted signage preemptively barring openly carried handguns. The company is now “respectfully requesting that customers no longer openly carry firearms… in states where ‘open carry’ is permitted – unless they are authorized law enforcement officers.”
This policy will apply in Sam’s Clubs too, which Walmart owns.
Explaining this decision, McMillon stated, “There have been multiple incidents since El Paso where individuals attempting to make a statement and test our response have entered our stores carrying weapons in a way that frightened or concerned our associates and customers. We have also had well-intentioned customers acting lawfully that have inadvertently caused a store to be evacuated and local law enforcement to be called to respond.”
“These incidents are concerning and we would like to avoid them. We believe the opportunity for someone to misinterpret a situation, even in open carry states, could lead to tragic results. We hope that everyone will understand the circumstances that led to this new policy and will respect the concerns of their fellow shoppers and our associates.”
As it relates to concealed carry by customers with permits, there is no change to Walmart’s policy.
Additional changes announced by Walmart today include:
- Discontinuance of sales of certain short-barrel rifle ammunition, after selling through current inventories. These include .223 caliber and 5.56 caliber, which Walmart noted are commonly used in some hunting rifles but can also be used in large capacity clips on “military-style weapons”;
- Discontinuance of sales of handgun ammunition, after selling through current inventories; and
- Discontinuance of handgun sales in Alaska, the only state where Walmart still sells handguns.
McMillon said he believes these actions will reduce Walmart’s share of the total ammunition market from around 20% to a range of approximately 6-9%, and only for weapons used in hunting, such as ammunition for long barrel deer rifles and shotguns.
Previously, Walmart already had stopped selling handguns, except in Alaska, and “military-style rifles” such as the AR-15. The company also had raised the age limit to purchase a firearm to 21, and it requires a “green light” on a background check while federal law only requires the absence of a “red light.”
Following McMillon’s announcement, state lawmaker Rep. Lina Ortega disclosed that Walmart’s policy changes were in line with a request that state lawmakers from El Paso had made to the company to make in a letter dated Aug. 14. “I am grateful that they were responsive to our concerns. I agree with Walmart that now it is the job of lawmakers to strengthen our gun laws. I intend to work on this issue the next time that the Texas Legislature is in session,” she said.
