Gun Owners Defy Walmart's 'Request' To Stop Open Carry, Company Does Absolutely Nothing, According to Texas Gun Org
It was big news last week when Walmart announced it was going to stop selling certain types of ammunition and guns. In addition to that, the company said it was going to discourage shoppers in Walmart stores from open carrying their firearms.
What this will end up functionally doing is anyone’s guess, but probably not much. Just ask a group of nearly 40,000 open carriers, many of whom have tested Walmart’s request since it was announced — and none of whom was accosted.
David Amad is the vice president of Open Carry Texas. He told The New York Times that since the retailer announced it was “respectfully requesting” rather than requiring that customers not open carry inside its stores, many of the 38,000-odd members of the group had gone into Walmarts while open carrying.
Not one was asked to leave, he said.
“They are ducking the issue,” Amad said.
“They are trying to get the gun haters to leave them alone, while at the same time leave us alone when we carry in their stores,” he said.
Indeed, as The Times story pointed out, Walmart could have outright banned guns from its stores.
“It’s a private property,” UCLA law professor Adam Winkler said. “A retailer can refuse service to anyone so long as it is not on the basis of race, religion or another protected group.
“That does not apply to gun owners.”
The Times’ Michael Corkery wrote positively about Walmart finding a kind of happy medium here.
“Some of the retailers said their new policies were meant to strike a balance between signaling that guns make many employees and customers feel unsafe, while not angering gun rights supporters,” he wrote.
“The new policies appear to be achieving something that have been elusive in the nation’s long-running gun debate: some form of middle ground.”
However, if something is mostly “signaling,” then what is it, really?
According to The Hill, a spokesman for the retail giant said its employees had been told not to approach peaceful open carriers in areas where hunting is prevalent. In other words, that means that their policy on open carry is basically the same as it was before.
When it comes to gun and ammunition sales, how much of a difference is it going to make there, as well?
According to the NRA, Walmart claims it accounts for 2 percent of U.S. gun sales and 20 percent of ammunition sales.
In other words, even if Walmart stopped selling firearms entirely, it would make no major difference in the market. Meanwhile, when it comes to ammunition, the company estimates that its market share will go down from 20 percent to between 6 and 9 percent under the new policy.
Unless your local independent gun shop is a lot farther away than your Walmart — and let’s face it, in Texas, that’s probably not going to be an issue — this also won’t make a big difference. You can still get whatever ammunition you desire; you just won’t get it at Walmart. This was basically a move to appease the liberal gods.
Meanwhile, it’s made gun rights advocates like Amad upset.
Amad told The Times that if he were ever asked to leave a Walmart he’d certainly do so, but he’d organize a protest at the store in question. He wouldn’t go so far as to call for a boycott, however: “I will never say I won’t go back to Walmart, because in some places out in the country, Walmart is the only place to shop,” he said.
If it isn’t for you, however, perhaps you should consider going somewhere else, somewhere that respects your gun rights. And just so they know where you stand, perhaps you might also consider following Open Carry Texas’ lead.
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