AR-15s have been used in several mass shootings, including those in Newtown, Conn., and Aurora, Colo.
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Molly Blakeman, a spokeswoman for Wal-Mart, said that the company knows that not all customers are ready to do their holiday shopping this early in the year, but some are – and the early layaway program will help them.
The weapons removed will reportedly include the AR-15 assault rifle, semi-automatic shotgun and anything else that uses high-capacity ammunition or holds multiple rounds.
Wal-Mart also said that it will continue to sell weapons suitable for hunting like shotguns, and will be adding to its offerings.
The changes are being made as Wal-Mart updates its sporting goods sections for the fall season, according to the Wall Street Journal.
The company lowered their stock and variety of firearms in 2006, but brought them back as part of a campaign to increase sales growth across its American stores, according to Bloomberg.
Wal-Mart CEO Douglas McMillon previously hinted that the move might be coming. Gun control advocates along with parents of victims and gun violence survivors joined together to urge Walmart, the nation’s largest gun retailer to stop the sale of assault weapons and munitions in their stores nationwide.
Wal-Mart said the decision was unrelated to high-profile incidents involving the rifles, including the killing of 26 students and adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut in 2012.
As a whole, gun sales are still robust across the country.
The National Shooting Sports Foundation said the demand for the pulled rifles is strong.
But Wal-Mart won’t sell guns at all without a background check, no matter how long it takes. Anti-gun activists and shareholders, including a historic Episcopal church in New York City, have lobbied the retailer to consider removing certain types of guns from its shelves.
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A federal appeals court sided with Wal-Mart in June, the Wall Street Journal reported.
1 Comment on this Post
Gene Ralno
Kind of a stupid headline. Walmart never sold an “assault weapon” and the writer is trying to mislead the uninformed reader — or he’s ignorant of his subject matter. An assault weapon is defined by having a selector switch that allows the user to choose single shot, semi-automatic or fully automatic operation. Even our leftist government accepts that definition. But leftist writers continue to hammer away as if saying it enough times will make the public believe this popular rifle is a military weapon. Let’s clear the air. It is not a military weapon, has no selector switch and the term “assault weapon” has no place in civilian conversation.