Walmart Pulls Guns, Ammo Displays in U.S. Stores, Citing Civil Unrest

[Dial H For Hero]

Source: Wall Street Journal

Walmart Inc. has removed all guns and ammunition from the sales floors of its U.S. stores this week, aiming to head off any potential theft of firearms if stores are broken into amid social unrest.

The retail giant, which sells firearms in about half of its 4,700 U.S. stores, said customers can still purchase guns and ammunition upon request even though they are no longer on display.

“We have seen some isolated civil unrest and as we have done on several occasions over the last few years, we have moved our firearms and ammunition off the sales floor as a precaution for the safety of our associates and customers,” a Walmart spokesman said. The company hasn’t decided how long the items will stay out of view, he said.

There have been days of violent protests and looting this week in Philadelphia after police fatally shot a Black man holding a knife in the city Monday.

Read more: https://www.wsj.com/articles/walmart-pulls-guns-ammo-displays-in-u-s-stores-citing-civil-unrest-11604002136

[louis-t]

1. Believe me, their only concern is being sued

after they sell guns and ammo to someone who then commits mass murder.

[Dial H For Hero]

5. They're still selling guns and ammo, just not displaying them.

[louis-t]

17. The article I read says they are

"pulling guns and ammo from the stores."

[Dial H For Hero]

18. The article says they're still selling them, just that they're not on display.

The retail giant, which sells firearms in about half of its 4,700 U.S. stores, said customers can still purchase guns and ammunition upon request even though they are no longer on display.

[Duppers]

42. At least a step in the right direction.

Yes, they should be pulled altogether but this beats doing nothing.

[Dial H For Hero]

45. What's wrong with selling bolt action rifles and .22's?

[Duppers]

49. Ask poster up-thread. 😉

Not totally anti-gun as I have property in bear country.

Gun shops have more security than Wal-Mart.

See...
https://www.change.org/p/doug-mcmillon-stop-the-sale-of-guns-at-walmart-stores?utm_content=bandit-starter_cl_share_content_en-us%3Av4&recruited_by_id=fc7b5740-b810-11e9-be8a-6fbcafd3c27d&recruiter=989859201&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=copylink&utm_campaign=share_petition

[mr_lebowski]

2. I'm certainly not going to complain ... anyone else? (nt)

[Clearly fogged in]

13. I'll give it a go

If in general, someone familiar with firearms would be a better sales rep in that department, would that person have tendencies to favor customers of like mind over others? What frightens me is that the militia minded now have possession and control over the weapons lockers. Excuse the hyperbole, but are there any safeguards at all?

[Dial H For Hero]

15. I'm not sure I follow you.

If in general, someone familiar with firearms would be a better sales rep in that department, would that person have tendencies to favor customers of like mind over others?

What do you mean by "favor" in this case? How would you anticipate that such a sales clerk would treat customers differently based upon their firearms knowledge, other than educating those without such knowledge?

[Clearly fogged in]

19. Not based on knowledge or based on ordinary conditions

I'm saying a localized event is possible, nothing with developed organization. Thinking in terms of a group like Bundy's, if I approached the counter it would be no-sale. Lefty the local can have whatever he wants because .

Edit - No Sale, not on sale

[Dial H For Hero]

20. Possible, I suppose, but in my experience the staff of any given gun shop are far more interested

in the making a sale than in the flavor of any particular customer's politics. Mind you, a customer who has given them lot of business in the past might be given first dibs on a particular rifle that's in demand at the moment.

[Clearly fogged in]

22. When upthread Mr_lebowski said he wasn't going to complain,

A bitching sailor is a happy sailor, so opportunity seized

[Midnight Writer]

40. Gun store near me advertises that if you are a Democrat, you are not welcome in their store.

They will not serve you.

They even have signs posted on their windows.

Now, how they will know you are a Democrat is another question, even though this is a small town of about two thousand and everybody knows everybody's business around here.

The same is true of the gun clubs around here, of which there are several. These are places where you can shoot paper targets with Hillary and Jane Fonda pictured on them.

[Dial H For Hero]

47. Certainly not the sort of thing I've seen in my neck of the woods.

Then again, I live in a city whose metropolitan area population is around two million, not two thousand.

That's not to deny for a moment that the staff of the gun shops here are overwhelmingly right wing or Libertarian...but I've never seen it get to the point that they let it interfere with making a sale.

[Evolve Dammit]

21. It really doesn't matter. They have been arming up since the black man took office.

[Ferrets are Cool]

24. This x 1000

[Dial H For Hero]

27. To a much larger degree, certainly.

Worth noting is that while previous spikes in gun sales typically lasted for a month or two, records have been broken every month since April this year (the chart only shiow the beginning of the Covid sales spike).

[yuiyoshida]

30. So they sold more guns than People died from Covid?

I am thinking that will change by December... hopefully Biden will have won by then!

[Dial H For Hero]

33. In all of 2020, there will likely by roughly 20 to 25 million firearms sold in the United States.

[yuiyoshida]

34. Yeh it sounds like they want a civil war....

I guess we shall see NOV 3RD. I have already voted, staying indoors that day... not that SF is a violent place, its not.. Just Its gonna be crazy ON Election night.


Think what happened in LA when the Lakers won the Championships...it will be TWICE THAT...when Donald Trump loses.

[Evolve Dammit]

53. Ammo sales are also way up since O elected. Have you seen stats on that? Nice graphic BTW.

[Dial H For Hero]

55. The only stat I could find on ammo is that sales are up around 100% since Covid-19 hit.

[Evolve Dammit]

56. I just remember per friends, all the shortages after O was elected. And same now.

[Bengus81]

46. Huh?? I thought Obama took all their guns. The ones they bought after Bill Clinton took them too

[Dial H For Hero]

48. Hell, nothing was banned under Obama. Trump banned bump stocks.

[Evolve Dammit]

54. NRA was very effective at scaring the membership to believe that lie for decades.

[Sherman A1]

3. Good and hopefully they never return

[Dial H For Hero]

6. They're still selling them, they just aren't on display.

[Sherman A1]

7. Even getting the displays down is something

[Dial H For Hero]

9. They'll almost certainly go back up before too long.

[Sherman A1]

12. Possibly, but in the Retail World ain't nuthin' guaranteed

Stuff is moving all the time and if they find that the space is just as or more productive without the guns, it will be re-set to another purpose. It is about moving product, what product that is makes no difference.

[Dial H For Hero]

58. Well, that didn't take long. They're going back on the shelves beginning today.

https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/walmart-to-return-firearms-to-sales-floor-183046047.html

[Mike 03]

4. Good job.

[Under The Radar]

8. Who would have ever thought that Walmart would become the social Conscience of the country?

First the drop the sales of semi automatic guns and large ammo clips, increase their employees wages above minimum wage across the country, the first to have a mask mandate and enforced social distancing....somewhere along the way I have lost my distaste for this company.

[SheltieLover]

11. Ikr!

It is a start!

[Ferrets are Cool]

25. They aren't NOT selling guns and ammo.

It's not about conscience.

[wnylib]

35. True. IMO, not about conscience as much as

about protecting merchandise from theft and recognizing the potential for loss during a period of civil unrest.

Another concern would be law suits for not protecting arms from easy theft in a dangerous situation. In retail, it's always about increasing sales, decreasing losses, and avoiding lawsuits.

[Ferrets are Cool]

37. +1

[ancianita]

38. Far from it. This is not conscience. This is good business.

Walmart knows its markets and demographics. It's a question of liability, robbery, and selling more carefully (even discriminating about who they'll tell no to, or sell to). Everything you've credited them for has saved or improved their bottom line and lowered their financial risk. Theirs has been cost/benefit analysis.

THE top corporation on the continent has the corporate mindset and is better at meeting profit goals than any competitor, except maybe Costco. Walmart also controls retail supply lines throughout the country, but not Costco's supply lines. I would never take the PR word of a corporation that has made big corporate donations to Republicans for decades, and whose profits could still be made during times of social tensions and instabilities.

My lifelong boycott of Walmart stands.

[Guilded Lilly]

10. Whatever their motivations, for now, YES. One more precaution is welcomed. N/T

[dameatball]

14. My take? There are virtually zero RWers that do not have guns already. "Rioters" are the

underlying message here. Fine with me to do whatever little they do, but not applauding them.

[yaesu]

16. The powder keg republic of tRumpistan. nt

[wnylib]

36. The right vs. left war that hardline RWers

have long been hoping for and prepping for.

[Evolve Dammit]

23. Doesn't matter. Everyone who wanted to be armed to the teeth, is. Good Luck to all of us.

[FelineOverlord]

26. Walmart Pulls Guns, Ammo Displays in U.S. Stores, Citing Civil Unrest

I am so glad I live in a state where these are not sold in Walmarts. Not that there are very many Walmarts here anyway.

[Ford_Prefect]

28. If they are only taking them off display then they are still somewhere in-store . Anyone with a will

and a pickup can knock a hole through a cinder-block wall. Walmart is as cheap as they come when doing store design, fire and safety.

As noted by several posts above this seems more about appearances than actual public safety.

If Walmart really wants to send a message they would completely remove the guns, ammo and hunting gear to a genuinely safe location until after Thanksgiving. Same for Cabela's, Sportsman's Warehouse and all the other hunter wannabe outlets. Likewise the national gun and ammo producers could institute a freeze on supplies and spare parts for 30 days.

[warmfeet]

29. Stop selling these items of death

all together. Removing the displays only, is utter bullshit.

[Dial H For Hero]

32. They don't sell handguns or military-style semiautomatics.

What in the world is wrong with them selling (for instance) a Marllin .30-30 lever action deer rifle or a .22 target rifle?

[warmfeet]

59. I own seven guns. Not all the guns in my family, not by a long shot. Get the pun?

You are telling me what think regarding gun ownership?

Shove off mate.

[Dial H For Hero]

60. I simply asked you a question. What do you find objectionable about Walmart selling lever action

rifles and .22's?

[Hekate]

31. Good idea, that

[0nirevets]

39. About damn time. How many Walmart shooters bought their gun from the same store they shot up?

[wnylib]

41. On a lighter note, back in the 1980's,

I worked in a mall, directly across from a bank, in a small city in a rural area of PA where hunting was a common pasttime. Nearly all the locals had hunting rifles.

Both the bank and the office I worked in had wide open entry ways, so I had a clear view of what happened.

A grizzled looking older local guy strolled into the bank wearing hunting clothes, with his rifle slung over his shoulder. Customers in line looked at him and at each other nervously. The manager went over to him and they talked briefly. The guy left and came back a few moments later without the rifle. The manager told me later that the guy had not wanted to leave his new rifle in his truck and had not thought about how it looked to walk into a bank openly armed. He told the manager, "Hell, I'm just goin' huntin'. You know I ain't gonna rob ya."

[rockfordfile]

43. good idea

[Initech]

44. Yes that is a smart move right now.

The real fireworks show will start Nov. 4th.

[Nitram]

50. This is huuuuge! Walmart is Flyover Central. they are red, white, and blue! If they are not

displaying guns for purchase, it is right of center support for gun control.

[kacekwl]

51. I guess the trumpkins will

have to hit Bass Pro Shop instead.

[pecosbob]

52. Sounds to me like they're afraid of protesters arming themselves by looting the stores

They should be afraid.

[Dial H For Hero]

57. update: Walmart to return firearms to the sales floor today

(full headline: Walmart to return firearms to the sales floor today as social unrest remains 'geographically isolated)

https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/walmart-to-return-firearms-to-sales-floor-183046047.html

Walmart will begin returning firearms and ammunition to the sales floor beginning Friday after they were temporarily removed amid social unrest, according to a statement from the retailer.

“After civil unrest earlier this week resulted in damage to several of our stores, consistent with actions we took over the summer, we asked stores to move firearms and ammunition from the sales floor to a secure location in the back of the store in an abundance of caution. As the current incidents have remained geographically isolated, we have made the decision to begin returning these products to the sales floor today,” the company said in an emailed statement.

Walmart (WMT), the world’s largest retailer, removed firearms and ammunition from sales floors this week following protests over the police killing of Walter Wallace Jr.

The retailer made a similar decision to pull firearms and ammunition back in June. While firearms and ammunition were not available on the sales floor, they could still be purchased.

Walmart, which operates more than 4,700 stores in the U.S., sells firearms at approximately half of those locations.