Walmart has clarified its policy on ammunition sales days after its CEO announced that America’s largest retailer would stop selling certain types of ammunition.
“Our assortment (of ammo) will remain focused on the needs of hunting and sport shooting enthusiasts,” a Walmart spokesman told the Washington Free Beacon. “It will include rifles used for deer hunting and shotguns, much of the ammunition they require, as well as hunting and sporting accessories and apparel. In other words, if we sell the firearm, we will sell the ammunition for it (except .223) …
By implying that they are fully committed to supporting deer hunters, Walmart hopes to gloss over the fact that by banning the sale of 9mm and other handgun ammunition, they are impacting the rights of millions of law-abiding gun owners like you and me.
I remind Walmart that, as the NRA says, the Second Amendment is not about hunting, so don’t try to use that as a crutch. (Read the NRA’s statement on Walmart here.) The 2A is about American freedom and our constitutional right to keep and bear arms.
This is America and I am a capitalist, so I support Walmart’s right to change policy and sell whatever products they want. But to imply that it is their civic and moral duty to stop selling handgun and .223 info is too much.
If that were the case, shouldn’t Walmart have pulled all the ammo off the shelves in all of their 5,000 stores and disposed of or destroyed it from the moment they announced their new policy earlier this week? But the CEO said in his statement:
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… We will sell through and discontinue handgun ammunition…
“Selling through” until all that “bad” ammo is sold out, gotta make that last nickel of profit! Then Walmart can follow through with its new policy for the civic and moral good! They can boast their full support for continuing to sell .270 and .30-06 shells, which, by the way, have a better profit margin than handgun ammo anyway!
With stores in all corners of rural America, Walmart is undoubtedly a convenient place to run in and buy a box of rifle cartridges if you run short during deer season. But unless I am in a real bind, I won’t do it anymore. I don’t believe in boycotts, but I do believe in shopping with my feet. I’ll bypass Walmart and shop for my ammo and other hunting and shooting needs at Academy, Cabela’s, Rural King or a local gun shop.
What about you, will you buy rifle or shotgun ammo from Walmart anymore?