Judge orders Wal-Mart to let NYC church challenge gun sales

[Eugene]

Source: Reuters

Judge orders Wal-Mart to let NYC church challenge gun sales

BY JONATHAN STEMPEL
Fri Nov 28, 2014 2:09pm EST

(Reuters) - A federal judge ordered Wal-Mart Stores Inc to let shareholders vote on a proposal to force tighter oversight of its sale of high-capacity guns and other potentially offensive products.

U.S. District Judge Leonard Stark in Wilmington, Delaware on Wednesday said the world's largest retailer wrongly excluded such a proposal from Trinity Church, a historic Wall Street church, from its June 6 annual meeting.

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The proposal would require the governance committee of Wal-Mart's board to more closely examine the sale of products that might endanger public safety, hurt Wal-Mart's reputation, or offend "family and community values" integral to the Bentonville, Arkansas-based company's brand.

Trinity said these products might include guns with clips holding more than 10 rounds, a type it said "enabled" mass killings in Newtown, Connecticut and Aurora, Colorado; or music that depicts sex or violence. It said Wal-Mart already limits sales of such music.

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Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/11/28/us-walmart-trinitychurch-lawsuit-guns-idUSKCN0JC1W220141128

[hack89]

1. All for it. It would be a boon to small gun shops

And perhaps convince more to get into the business.

[Eleanors38]

13. If Malwart were to drop gun inventory. the likely

outfits to pick up slack will probably be Cabela's, Academy Sports, Dick's and the other BigBoxes who can buy en masse.

[discntnt_irny_srcsm]

2. excellent

gun and music control together

[benEzra]

3. "Judge orders Wal-Mart to let SC church challenge contraceptive sales"

Would you be cheering the theocratic principle then?

The fact that a church thinks God wants them to ban something is hardly newsworthy (look around and you can find churches that want to censor, ban, or outlaw all kinds of "sins" they disagree with---whether contraception, alcohol, cigarettes, erotica, same-sex relationships, "nonsporting" weapons, "unwholesome" entertainment, or the practice of Islam---but it's a little odd to see the theocratic principle implicitly endorsed here on DU. I guess the idea of Banning Things For Gawd is ok as long as the sin in question is gun ownership.

The church's obsession with rifles is a little odd, though, since rifles are the least misused of all weapons in the United States, but whatever. It's a free country.

[virginia mountainman]

4. The anitis get so wound up..

They almost universally fail to see the big picture don't they Ben?

[sarisataka]

5. Pardon my ignorance

but what standing does this church hold to make such a proposal ? Does it own shares of stock?

Hmm, "or offend 'family and community values'" Careful, that slope looks wet and it is getting pretty cold out.

[Eugene]

6. Trinity is a shareholder.

However, the court filing does not state how much they hold.

[sarisataka]

7. That makes sense then

if a shareholder is allowed in the bylaws to make such a proposal than their proposal should be heard according to such bylaws.

If I disagree with such proposal I can buy shares of Walmart and vote against it.

[DonP]

8. I'm gonna guess it isn't that big a holding

And any member of the Walton family probably has way more shares to vote with than this church. Not to mention the number of shares held by big pension funds and other investment firms looking for a maximum return regardless of the source.

As mentioned above, I wonder if the eager beaver gun grabbers will feel the same way when the catholic church decides to stop birth control sales, now that a precedent is being set.

[sarisataka]

10. That is the slope

I alluded to.

I can agree with the point that shareholders can determine what products a store does or does not sell.

However if those decisions are being made on a basis other than business reasons it can lead to unintended consequences.

[ileus]

11. Be funny if the shareholders decided Bibles were offensive and unsafe to the public.

What about oil? Should they be selling oil to individuals that may not dispose of it properly?

Car Batteries?

Dishwasher pods?


Candy bars?

The list of unsafe, potentially misused items on their shelves is endless.

[Res Publica]

18. So many other things Wally-world sells that kills much more than guns.

Cigarettes http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/fact_sheets/health_effects/tobacco_related_mortality/
Alcohol http://www.cdc.gov/alcohol/fact-sheets/alcohol-use.htm
Cheap Sweets (ala Soda, Candy)

[ileus]

9. Potentially offensive, might endanger.....LOL what a load of BS.

[branford]

12. If Trinity is a shareholder,

and Walmart's by-laws permit a vote on the resolution, it should not have been excluded and the judge's ruling appears correct.

However, when a conservative shareholder soon seeks to similarly ban or limit Walmart's sale of contraceptives or halal food, I doubt many here who liked the firearm proposal will be as supportive.

[Nuclear Unicorn]

14. "Trinity said these products might include guns with clips holding more than 10 rounds..."

What does that even mean?

[benEzra]

15. Imagine, civilian guns holding more than 10 rounds. Shock, horror.

A civilian with a clean record has been able to walk into a general store and buy an over-10-round rifle since 1861 or 1862, whenever the 16-round Henry rifle became available. The 16-round Winchester hit the civilian market in 1866, as I recall.

[Nuclear Unicorn]

16. Im curious to know how any gun with a magazine can be held to any particular limit.

I'm no technical expert but the magazine determines the bullet capacity and any magazine that fits the length of the handle or sits in the open can hold however many bullets its length will allow.

What they want doesn't seem technically feasible, unless they already know this and are lying about wanting an outright ban on sales by WalMart.

[benEzra]

17. Exactly. (n/t)