Walmart, Dick’s Sporting Goods Crack Down on Gun Sales
Two major U.S. retailers changed their gun sales policies Wednesday in the fallout over a Florida high school massacre.
Walmart, the country’s biggest retailer, announced it is raising the age restriction for buying guns and ammunition to 21.
“We take seriously our obligation to be a responsible seller,” it said in a statement.
Walmart is also dropping toys and other items that resemble assault-style weapons from its website. The retail giant stopped selling assault-style guns in 2015 and does not sell handguns except for its stores in Alaska.
Earlier Wednesday, Dick’s Sporting Goods announced it would no longer sell assault-style rifles or any gun to anyone younger than 21.
The chain went one step further and urged Congress to ban assault-style weapons and raise the minimum age.
The alleged Parkland high school shooter, Nikolas Cruz, used an AR-15.
Dick’s says Cruz had bought a shotgun at one of its stores after going though all the proper procedures, but stressed it was not the exact weapon or the type allegedly used in the Feb. 14 massacre.
Both Walmart and Dick’s say they are committed to serving sportsmen, hunters, and the majority of gun owners whom they call law-abiding citizens.
WATCH: Dick’s Sporting Goods CEO: ‘We Don’t Want to be a Part of This Story’
The mass shooting of 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School has had an impact on the corporate world, which is seemingly taking a close look at nationwide polls that overwhelmingly favor tighter gun laws.
More than a dozen major companies are ending discounts for members of the National Rifle Association (NRA). They include Delta Airlines, Enterprise Rent-A-Car, MetLife Insurance and Best Western Hotels.
President Donald Trump, who has been a huge supporter of the NRA and whose campaign was a recipient of millions of dollars in NRA funds, said earlier this week that sometimes you just have to fight the NRA.
At a discussion on gun safety with U.S. lawmakers Wednesday, he also accused Republican politicians who have given tepid support for stronger gun laws of being “afraid” of the powerful pro-gun lobby group.
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