“These incidents are concerning and we want to avoid them, so we respectfully ask customers to stop openly carrying firearms in our stores or Sam`s clubs in states where `open carrying` is allowed — unless they are authorized law enforcement officers,” McMillon said. If someone chooses to openly carry a gun in one of their stores, it`s up to the store manager to decide how they react. In states like Alaska or Wyoming, where “open portage” is more common, the manager could take the customer aside and ask them to leave the gun in their vehicle next time, the spokesman said. But the reaction could be stronger “if it`s a situation where it sounds alarming,” he said. Given the potential ambiguity of their language — that chains “urge” customers to leave guns at home and “prefer” not to see guns carried — the statements raise the question of how store employees will enforce their new policies. “Asking customers not to openly carry guns in stores isn`t exactly policy,” says David Yamane, a sociologist at Wake Forest University and an expert on U.S. gun culture and policy. “They didn`t ban it. There are real problems with this view, from the fact that the old maxim about Sam Colt started as an advertisement to sell Colt revolvers, to the truth about who was allowed to own guns and when they were allowed to carry them, to the historical context about firearms, technology, property rights and the development of urban society.
I also learned that carrying a gun — even with a driver`s license, education, and real need — doesn`t make me as worthy of that responsibility as real cops and soldiers, and that didn`t make me an action movie hero. Yes, I had a real artificial need to carry a gun, and I carried one of the best-made, best-built handguns on my hip — which would have been super cool for me at 16, but I didn`t have the training or responsibility of a real cop and I wasn`t Jason Bourne. Corrections and clarifications: An earlier version of this story misinterpreted the stores` requests. Retailers are asking their customers not to carry open firearms in their stores. Walmart is not changing its policy toward customers who carry hidden weapons with permits. “This is not a ban on our part,” a Walmart spokesperson told CBS MoneyWatch. Some state laws “prohibit us from enacting a complete ban,” even if Walmart stores are privately owned, the spokesperson added. The grocery store issued a statement on Sept.
5 about its open-harbor policy, continuing its long-standing preference not to welcome guns into its stores. Walgreens issued the following statement regarding Open Carry in September. 5: McMillon announced Tuesday that Walmart will stop selling handguns and military rifles. In the same statement, he demanded that customers stop openly carrying guns in Walmart stores. Several other chains followed suit. As of Friday, Kroger, CVS, Walgreens and Wegmans had all made similar statements. Walmart`s decision, however, makes sense. 3. August killed a mass shooting at Walmart El Paso 22 and wounded 24 others, just days after a disgruntled employee murdered two employees and attempted to murder a police officer at a Mississippi store. Since those events and the ensuing national outcry — but before the bans — at least one open wearing enthusiast in Missouri has undertaken what he called a “social experiment” that tested Walmart`s commitment to the right to keep and carry guns and sparked panic; Others made threats that led to panicked evacuations that alerted their employees and customers, who feared they would be the next Americans to die in a mass shooting.
But there are millions of Americans who think it`s a terrible thing. They see it as a restriction of their fundamental rights and an open invitation to criminals to attack them and their neighbours. Supermarket and drugstore chains in the U.S. have begun asking customers not to openly carry guns in their stores, even in states where open carrying is legal. It`s a trend apparently sparked by Walmart, whose CEO Doug McMillon announced the decision Tuesday after a series of mass shootings across the country, including in August. 3 shootings in which 22 people were killed at a Walmart store in El Paso, Texas. In 2014, after several discussions with advocacy group Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense, the bakery chain urged customers not to wear openly in their stores. “Most gun owners are responsible and respectful of their fellow citizens, and if Walmart doesn`t want them to wear them openly, they won`t,” he says. “But you`re going to have a small minority of people openly carrying guns because in every group of people, you`re going to have extreme people testing those limits.” If Walmart takes action, others may follow. In fact, on Tuesday, Kroger announced a similar request to customers not to carry open guns. Others had already done so, including Target and Starbucks.
On Sept. 3, the company asked customers not to open the port at its Walmart and Sam`s Club stores except for law enforcement. “First of all, this is a request and not a complete ban. What for? Because we want to give responsible gun owners the opportunity to comply with our request — and also because enforcing a ban would potentially force our partners to confront armed customers, and that`s not a role I like to overwhelm Starbucks partners,” he said. Secondly, we know that we cannot satisfy everyone. For those who oppose “open postponement,” we believe that the legislative and policy-making process is the right place for this debate, not our business. For those advocating “Open Carry,” please respect the fact that Starbucks stores are places where everyone should feel relaxed and comfortable. The presence of a firearm in our stores is troubling and troubling for many of our customers.
In addition, the open carrying of weapons is not permitted in all States. Make sure you comply with federal, state, and local laws in all cases. A month after 22 people were gunned down at a Walmart in El Paso, Texas, the retailer is urging customers not to carry open guns in its stores. The company also plans to stop selling certain types of ammunition and end handgun sales in Alaska, the only state where it still sells such weapons. The coffee giant announced its position in an open letter from former CEO Howard Schultz in 2013.