Wal-Mart partners with Mayors Against Guns
From the horse’s, err, well you know:
Wal-Mart and the bi-partisan coalition of Mayors Against Illegal Guns have announced that Wal-Mart, the largest seller of firearms in the nation, has adopted the new Responsible Firearms Retailer Partnership, a 10-point code that will help ensure that guns do not fall into the wrong hands.
And if you buy a gun, you’re on video. You can contact WalMart at:
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.
702 SW 8th Street
Bentonville, Arkansas 72716-8611
479-273-4000
Or hit their contact page here.
Apparently, this happened back in 2008. I don’t recall hearing about it.
August 20th, 2009 at 1:09 pm
I haven’t been inside a Mall-Wart in 5 or 6 years. I got tired of the company that once proudly touted their American products peddling cheap Chinese crap, so I quit going there.
May still send them a message, though.
August 20th, 2009 at 1:26 pm
Um, you blogged it.
August 20th, 2009 at 1:28 pm
The Wally World here in Anchorage will not allow customers to touch a pistol, although they have no problem handing you a rifle to examine.
When I was shopping 1911s last fall, they offered to order one for me (“It’ll be here in only 3 days!”) but wouldn’t let me touch it.
I walked across the street Sportsman’s Warehouse, where I was handed several pistols & invited to look them over. That’s where I bought, too.
August 20th, 2009 at 1:29 pm
Apparently, I really do say so much shit that I cannot keep up with it.
August 20th, 2009 at 2:02 pm
I just recall it being a major issue in the gun world. I figured I’d hit Wal-Mart into your little search bar and check since I couldn’t fathom that you would miss something that big.
August 20th, 2009 at 2:09 pm
You blogged it, I blogged it, it was everywhere.
Facebook is already eating your brain.
August 20th, 2009 at 2:16 pm
Dunno. I hate being tracked but a big store like Wally would have lawyers assessing risk. Survivors law suits mostly. Anyway, looking over the guide lines it is not to wildly bad. I kinda think we have to police ourselves if we want to get universal concealed carry or open carry. I would not knowingly commit a crime and most of you wouldn’t, but this is what a resonalble person might do to insure they do not sell a gun to a criminal. It is more than is required, but that is kind of the point. They could just quit selling guns like Sears and K-Mart and Farm and City have done.
I’m not so very fond of Wally myself, but at least they still sell guns. Maybe some day we will be able to have guns shipped from the catalog center to our home, but that is a long way out. Lee Harvey Oswald and Jack Ruby made sure of that.
August 20th, 2009 at 4:09 pm
Where does Wally-World hide the camera(s) at the guns & ammo counter?
Up high? Or down low level with your face?
If up high, wear a cowboy hat. With an IR LED hatband.
August 20th, 2009 at 4:22 pm
I hate to be the one to tell you this, but any time you step into a Walmart, or a Target, or almost any “big box” store, you are being recorded. Your activities at the checkout counter are being recorded. Your behavior in the aisles is being recorded. Your walk into and out of the store is being recorded.
What good does this do, other than provide lawyers with blooper reels to play for the jury when someone is crushed in the Christmas rush, I am not sure, but it apparently pays for the stores to do this to prevent losses in lawsuits.
Expect more and more monitoring in your lives. And keep your fingers out of your noses.
August 20th, 2009 at 5:24 pm
If they’re that afraid, they should get out of the gun business and leave it to real Americans.
Paul; yours is the language of failure. Risk aversion, caving, capitulation, and associating decent folks with criminals. Oswald and Ruby were bad, so we all have to be punished.
That is never the way it works in a free society. Don’t blame criminals for our loss of liberties. Put the blame for loss of liberties squarely where it belongs– with Congress and the state legislatures. Punish the criminals, and punish the other criminals who use crime as an excuse to violate human rights on a wholesale level.
Regarding security cameras; Our music store has cameras all over it. They’re for keeping track of where the customers are so we can make sure they’re being helped, they’re for detecting shoplifting, and they’re for keeping an eye on our employees. Tell me we shouldn’t do that, and I’ll tell you to mind your own fucking business and let me mind mine. It’s when the government gets involved that it becomes a problem, in which case see the previous sentence but read it thrice.
August 20th, 2009 at 5:43 pm
Woah…
You guys can buy guns in Wal Mart?
And people think Texas is a gun meca where you can get an AR with a gallon of milk. None of the Wal Marts local to me sell guns. Just ammo, and its all cheap WWB.
August 20th, 2009 at 5:44 pm
I like to walk through Wal-Mart scratching my ass and picking my nose, knowing they’re recording that.
August 20th, 2009 at 7:24 pm
A couple things here. My son works at Wallyworld (Walmart) and was told they are getting out of firearm sales altogether. the newly built store doesn’r even offer them. They do still sell ammo and accessories.
The other thing… I sent in pics of the 2 Camp carbines awhile back and in the picture is a Star Mod.30 pistol. I bought that pistol at Walmart for $228.00 dollars back in 1988. I wonder if I can get the video of that transaction?
August 20th, 2009 at 8:11 pm
The local WM stopped selling firearms when they switched to being “Super”. They now carry about twice as much of half the products. Since the MAIG agreement, I don’t do any brick-n-morter firearm supply purchased there.
August 20th, 2009 at 8:53 pm
No, Lyle, you are wrong. The blame belongs squarely on us. We are the people who didn’t stand up when this crap was in its infancy and could have been easily defeated. We are the people who re-elected the sonsofbitches that did it. We are the people who wanted to be pragmatic and give a little to be left alone. We are the people too stupid to have realized that once we surrendered the first time, it would become a habit and expected.
So, I am with your sentiment, put the blame squarely where it beongs. On us.
August 20th, 2009 at 9:48 pm
I e-mailed Wallyworld the last time, this is their response from 15 Apr 2008.
August 20th, 2009 at 9:51 pm
i havent see a walmart selling guns in almost 15 years…
August 20th, 2009 at 9:57 pm
Straightarrow, I understand your point but I’ve never voted for any POS that has voted for any form of gun control and never will. I’ve always advocated against gun control and do everything I can to end it today. So if you want to blame yourself then feel free Kimosabe, but leave me out of it.
August 21st, 2009 at 9:56 am
My local Walmart still sells long guns, but no handguns.
Nothing fancy, just your usual hunting and plinking gear. Still plenty of shotgun and rifle ammo, but as for handgun ammo, it’s always a crap shoot. They had to implement a per-customer limit on ammo sales, and even then, if you see handgun ammo there, you have to jump on it, because you can be sure they’re going to sell out before you come back the next time.
I took advantage of some good sale prices at the Wal-Mart in the small town my parents live in, just outside Houston. They too were getting out of the gun business altogether and trying to liquidate stock before having to ship the rest to Bentonville, AR for redistribution to those Wal-Marts still selling guns. That’s how I picked up my Marlin .30-.30 levergun.
August 21st, 2009 at 10:45 am
Robert said:
“Woah…You guys can buy guns in Wal Mart?
And people think Texas is a gun meca where you can get an AR with a gallon of milk.”
Robert must be lying. How can all of those grenade launchers and machine guns get bought and moved to Mexico if they don’t do it at the local Wal-Mart? According to the media, every Wal-Mart along the border is a drug-gun smugglers paradise. And we always can trust the media.
My local Wal-Mart sells guns but not to me. I won’t buy one there after they signed that Bloomberg deal last year. I wonder how many new Wal-Marts have broke ground in New York since the deal?
August 21st, 2009 at 2:42 pm
Asked a member of the WA Hometown Forum on AR15,com who does security at Wally World about this, he says that they do some of it, but not all, i.e., they do background checks on employees who handle firearm sales where it is required by state law, but not otherwise. They have security cameras on all points of sale, for internal security purposes, but no store retains the video for 6 months like Bloomie wants. There is no “Computerized Crime Gun Trace Log and Alert System”. Etc. Basically (he says) they comply with the law and/or with sound business practice. And some of Bloomie’s 10 Points are, in fact, sound business practice.
It bugs the hell out of me, though, to have Wally World–where I only shop out of desperation anyway–sign an agreement with Mayors Who Hate Guns.
August 22nd, 2009 at 1:30 am
(sigh) I remember when the local Wal-Mart sold PISTOLS. Now they have rifles and shotguns, and a little ammo.
Looks like I’ll be doing business at Winn-Dixie from now on.
August 22nd, 2009 at 5:19 pm
Back when this first started, I got the same form letter reply. The part that basically says “If you’re a law-abiding customer we don’t think you’ll mind” caused my reply “So you think that if I’m bothered by this it means I’m not a law-abiding citizen? Then you can continue without my giving you any more of my money.”
I’m still ticked off about it.
August 24th, 2009 at 9:49 pm
I’ve never bought a firearm from Wal-mart, I don’t believe they’ve ever carried a selection I was interested in, Even if I had, this really wouldn’t bother me as most every gun store I’ve ever been in had video cameras. Sounds to me they’re just trying to make sure that the minimum wagers they’ve got working there aren’t selling guns illegally to anyone “under the counter”. There have been cases where this has happened and I can understand their concern. A local K-mart had this problem and had to stop selling firearms and ammo years ago because of the lack of trustworthy employees after around 6-7 firearms went missing. I’ve bought ammo a few times at various Wal-mart stores (when they have any). I always assume I’m video taped anytime I walk into a big box store for the last 20+ years. These days you can’t avoid it. Stores generally hold these tapes for a period of time before recycling. Stop getting your knickers in a twist about something that is not new, just new to you. The camera is not there to “spy” on you any more than the ATM camera you walk up to at your local bank. So what, if they’ve got you on tape? Afraid this is somehow going to cause the feds to come after you or your .22 lever action? Like they couldn’t already, if they wanted to? Seriously? Smile and wave to the damn camera. “HI, Mom!” And for the guy with the “made in china” hype… Wal-mart carries more “made in the USA products” than most retailers these days. Just bought a package of tube socks the other day that were US made at Wally World after checking several other retailers that carried none.