Walmart Is Changing Its Gun Sale and Open-Carry Policies, One Month After El Paso Shooting

One month immediately after a perpetrator targeted a Walmart in El Paso, Texas and killed 22 people, the agency is changing its policy on gun sales.


In a memo to personnel on September 3, Walmart CEO Doug McMillon reported that the firm will decrease its gun and ammunition sales. The store will also no longer permit shoppers to openly carrying firearms and has pressured Congress to enact stronger gun-safety measures.


America's largest retailer, with more than 5,000 stores in the U.S., will no longer sell short-barrel rifle ammunition that can be used with military-style weapons or handgun ammunition. It will also stop selling handguns in Alaska, the only state it still sells handguns, and has requested that clientele no longer carry guns into its stores or any of its Sam's Club stores.


“After selling through our current inventory commitments, we plan to discontinue sales of short-barrel rifle ammunition like because the .223 caliber and 5.56 caliber that, while commonly used in some hunting rifles, can also be used in large capacity clips on military-style weapons,” McMillon wrote.


This comes right after Walmart saw at least two acts of gun violence this summer: An ex-Walmart coworker shot and killed two other associates in Southaven, Mississippi on July 30. Just days later, a white supremacist attacked a Walmart in El Paso on August 3, killing 22 people and injuring 28 others. At the time, the company mentioned it would be pulling violent video game displays out of stores and McMillon visited El Paso on August 6 to show support for stricter gun control legislation.


McMillon mentioned he plans to send letters to the White Home and Congress calling for usual sense" gun reform, re-authorizing the assault weapons ban, and expanding background checks. This won't be his first letter, either: The business sent letters to the White Residence and Congress on August 15 calling for legislators to take the debate around stronger gun control measures seriously.


“We know these decisions will inconvenience some of our clients, and we hope they plan to understand. As an agency, we experienced two horrific events in one week, and we are going to never be the same,” McMillon wrote in Tuesday’s letter. “Our remaining assortment will be even more focused on the needs of hunting and sport shooting enthusiasts. It will include long barrel deer rifles and shotguns, much of the ammunition they need, along with hunting and sporting accessories and apparel.”


Walmart currently accounts for two percent of gun sales in the U.S. And 20 percent of ammunition sales: McMillon mentioned he hopes this new plan will decrease that share from 20 percent to 6-9 percent. “We believe it will probably drift toward the lower end of that length, after awhile, given the mixture of those changes,” he wrote.


The letter went on to mention that several incidents since the El Paso attack — including one in which a 20-year-old man was arrested for wearing body armor and carrying a loaded rifle into the store — led them to ban open-carry weapons in Walmarts nationwide.


“We encourage our nation’s leaders to move forward and strengthen background checks and to remove weapons from those who have been decided to pose an imminent danger,” the letter read. “We never sell military-style rifles, and we believe the reauthorization of the Assault Weapons ban should be debated to decide its effectiveness. We must also do more, as a nation, to understand the root causes that lead to this kind of violent behavior.”


However not each person thinks Walmart is actually doing enough including CREDO Action, an agency that fights for progressive change.


"Walmart is attempting to protect themselves from public and employee backlash by ending sales of ammunition and ending open carry. Any step that doesn't include ending gun sales full stop isn't enough to show a true commitment to ending gun violence and mass shootings," CREDO Action co-director Heidi Hess mentioned in a statement. "We call on Walmart to send a message to other agencies, stand with their personnel and end all gun sales in their stores."


Around 100 people in the nation are killed by gun violence daily, according to Everytown For Gun Safety. Per Mass Shooting Tracker, at least 410 people in the U.S. Have been killed in mass shootings this year alone. It is only the 246th day of the year.