Wal-Mart Guns Policy: Have Gun Control Efforts Affected the Retail Giant?

While retailers such as Target have taken measures to prohibit firearms in their stores, Walmart continues to allow guns in accordance with local laws.

The retailer came under the spotlight in July when a loaded revolver was found in the bathroom of a South Carolina Wal-Mart, The Huffington Post reported.

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But, despite pressure from gun control advocates such as Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, the incident didn’t sway the retailer.

"Our policy is to comply with all state, federal, and local laws as it pertains to carrying firearms. We're not considering any changes at this time." Wal-Mart Stores Inc. spokesman Brian Nick told The Huffington Post.

Wal-Mart also drew criticism in August when a customer carrying an air rifle was shot dead by police at the company’s store in Beavercreek, Ohio. The retailer subsequently pulled pellet guns from store shelves, NBC News reported. Nick said the decision was specific to that store and not a companywide policy.


Gun sales are significant to the retailer, which had stopped selling firearms at a third of its stores in 2006 but reinstated them after the recession hit and the retailer grappled with declining sales, according to Time.

Wal-Mart is thought to be the largest seller or firearms and ammunition in the United States.

Gun sales at Wal-Mart rose sharply in recent years. A surge in sales last year led to sold-out inventory of some firearms and ammunition rations, with the retailer limiting customers to three boxes of ammunition per day, CNN reported.

Wal-Mart has received pressure from gun control advocates to stop selling assault rifles in the wake of mass shootings. Wal-Mart Stores Inc. spokeswoman Kory Lundberg said the company has been very purposeful about its gun sales policies, USA Today reported.

The company doesn’t sell handguns in the continental U.S., doesn’t sell firearms online and sells modern sporting rifles at less than a third of its stores, USA Today reported. The retailer also adopted a 10-point firearms sales code in 2008, requiring such measures as videotaping of all firearms transactions, no sales without background check results, and securing firearms behind a locking fixture and with trigger locks.

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