Bentonville, Arkansas, specifically so he could be close to his in-laws’ quail-hunting ranch. Remington
shotguns were his favourite, as retailer Field & Stream once noted. He was such a devout fan that the gun-
maker issued a commemorative model in his name after he died.
But its relationship with firearm sales has been fickle in the 26 years since it made the landmark decision to
stop carrying handguns. As economic and political winds have shifted, so have Walmart’s gun policies,
though the general trend has been towards more restrictions. In July, Walmart announced it would stop
selling guns in New Mexico after a new state law went into effect. The law requires background checks for
almost all private gun sales excluding antiques and those to relatives. And it also allows federally licensed
gun sellers, such as Walmart, to provide background checks.
Walmart stopped sales because it could not furnish such checks for private sales. A situation in which
private individuals might come into a Walmart with their own guns and request a background check could
create a confusing or dangerous situation.
Last year, Walmart said it would raise the minimum age to buy a firearm or ammunition from 18 to 21 and
remove products resembling assault-style rifles, such as airsoft guns and toys, from its inventory. The
company said in a statement that it made the decision in light of recent events – an inescapable reference to
the recent mass shooting at a Parkland, Florida, high school that left 17 people dead.
It was an unusual acknowledgement from Walmart, which has often attributed its changing positions on
gun sales to market factors, even when other issues are present. Walmart was late to the game in 1993 when
it decided to stop selling handguns. Other major retailers such as Sears and JC Penney had pulled firearms
from their shelves years earlier.
That year, national rates of gun murders and violent gun crimes reached record highs, according to Pew
Research Centre. Walmart’s representatives said the company was ending handgun sales at its 2,000 stores
because marketing surveys showed people felt uncomfortable seeing pistols displayed alongside clothing
and household items.
Although the stores continued to carry shotguns and rifles, some worried that the move would erode the
legacy of Walton, who died the previous year. “It was something Sam liked, a reflection of him, and they
will look at it as taking something away from the tradition of Walmart,” Walter Loeb, president of Loeb
Associates Inc, a retail consulting firm, told The New York Times.
Walmart employees gather in a nearby car park
after a shooting at the store in Southaven,
Mississippi, on Tuesday (AP)Another major move came in 2006 when Walmart announced it would stop selling firearms entirely at all
but a third of its US stores, which then numbered around 3,000. Again, the company said the decision was
market-driven, citing “diminished customer relevancy” in the suburban and urban areas where Walmart
was expanding. And again, hunting and firearms enthusiasts voiced concerns the company was drifting