Walmart announced in a memo yesterday that in response to the El Paso and Southhaven mass shootings, they will stop selling ammunition for the popular AR-15 rifle. They will also stop selling handgun ammunition, and will only sell long-gun rifle ammo.
The memo read, “We’ve also been listening to a lot of people inside and outside our company as we think about the role we can play in helping to make the country safer. It’s clear to us that the status quo is unacceptable.
After visiting El Paso on Aug. 6, I mentioned that we would be thoughtful and deliberate in our responses. We’re ready to share our next steps.
We’ve been giving a lot of thought to our sale of firearms and ammunition.
The retail giant then said…
After selling through our current inventory commitments, we will discontinue sales of short-barrel rifle ammunition such as 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;
We will sell through and discontinue handgun ammunition; and
We will discontinue handgun sales in Alaska, marking our complete exit from handguns.
In the meantime, our sponsor, Black Robe Rifles, would like to offer you 300 rounds of premium 5.56 NATO at special pricing.
Walmart then said it would be urging the government to pass more stringent gun-control legislation.
Finally, 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.
You should probably buy your AR-15 while you can before giant corporations successfully lobby the government to get rid of Second Amendment rights just to capitalize on momentary public sentiment. If Walmart doesn’t want to sell sporting rifles, that’s their prerogative. But just because they don’t want to doesn’t mean that everyone else should be mandated to give up their liberty.
This is not Walmart caring about consumers. This is about Walmart trying to stifle their competition. If they don’t sell these products, they don’t want anyone else to, either.
In the meantime, thankfully such products are still available online from Black Robe Rifles so that you can be properly prepared.
