Walmart Hikes Age Requirement For Firearm Purchases To 21

Just hours after Dick's announced it would end sales of all assault rifles and no longer sell any guns to people under 21, moments ago Walmart - or Warmart, as Bloomberg briefly dubbed it in a rather amusing Freudian slip moments ago...

... joined the bandwagon announcing late on Wednesday that "in light of recent events" America's largest retailer is "raising the age restriction for purchase of firearms and ammunition to 21 years of age."

Of course, Walmart could not fully replicate Dick's "taking a stand", because it had already stopped selling assault-style rifles back in 2015 due to sluggish demand for guns rather than politics according to the company.

"It was done purely based on customer demand," Kory Lundberg, a Walmart spokesman, told The New York Times in August 2015. The rifles, he said, were not "something customers were looking for and buying when they came into our stores."

That however did not stop the angry public to demand that Walmart, which remains the country's largest gun seller, to follow suit.

"Walmart — PLEASE match the pledge made by Dick's Sporting goods for the sake of our children," a Facebook user wrote on Wednesday.

But just to appease the public in a clear attempt at PR crisis management, Walmart said that it was also "removing items from our website resembling assault-style rifles, including nonlethal airsoft guns and toys."

Nonetheless, Walmart still sells rifles and hand guns: "Our heritage as a company has always been in serving sportsmen and hunters, and we will continue to do so in a responsible way."

Full statement below:

In light of recent events, we’ve taken an opportunity to review our policy on firearm sales. Going forward, we are raising the age restriction for purchase of firearms and ammunition to 21 years of age. We will update our processes as quickly as possible to implement this change.

In 2015, Walmart ended sales of modern sporting rifles, including the AR-15. We also do not sell handguns, except in Alaska where we feel we should continue to offer them to our customers. Additionally, we do not sell bump stocks, high-capacity magazines and similar accessories. We have a process to monitor our eCommerce marketplace and ensure our policies are applied.

We take seriously our obligation to be a responsible seller of firearms and go beyond Federal law by requiring customers to pass a background check before purchasing any firearm. The law would allow the sale of a firearm if no response to a background check request has been received within three business days, but our policy prohibits the sale until an approval is given.

We are also removing items from our website resembling assault-style rifles, including nonlethal airsoft guns and toys. Our heritage as a company has always been in serving sportsmen and hunters, and we will continue to do so in a responsible way.

 

 

Comments

Cognitive Dissonance Bud Dry Wed, 02/28/2018 - 18:59 Permalink

So what about the voting age? Or the drinking age?

Oh, wait. These are corporations who are restricting legal rights.

I can't wait for the lawsuits to start. If they posses a Federal license to sell firearms, what gives them the right to restrict who they sell to when using the Federal license to sell the firearms?

Ya can't have your cake and eat it too WalMart. See ya at the Supreme Court.

In reply to by Bud Dry

Freddie Buckaroo Banzai Wed, 02/28/2018 - 19:04 Permalink

Some conservatives like Free Republic (FR) types think Wal Mart are good guys just because they are not some shitty lib company like Target or Kohls.

Wal Mart is pretty shitty.   Country Bumpkin Sam Walton was supposedly in military intel and they were close to the Clintons.   Wal Mart probably makes 45% of their revenue off of food stamps now and many of the customers are illegal aliens.

I hope the German and Catholic owned Aldi/Trader Joes puts a big hurt on Wal Mart and Whole Foods-Bezos.  I am not a Catholic-phile but at least Aldi/Trader Joes is not owned by Christ killers.

In reply to by Buckaroo Banzai

One of We Wed, 02/28/2018 - 18:58 Permalink

If you can go to war to fight for freedum you should be able to purchase and bear your own firearms.  My ten year old handles our AR well.  The seven year old prefers the 10/22.  The guns have never shot any of us but they have pinched a finger here and there and inflicted countless thumb blisters and shoulder bruises.  I was assaulted by the .375 H&H once causing circular laceration to the forehead and I would count that as the most nefarious action ever taken by any of my firearms.   They just want to be left alone like the rest of us.

Cluster_Frak Wed, 02/28/2018 - 18:59 Permalink

Just raise it to 99 years old and be done with it. Marxist Leninists want to kill the Constitution and there is nothing to stop them, except a bunch of raycist, sexists, white males.