| September, 11, 2019 | Juan Ibarra | editor-in-chief |
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Every time a mass shooting happens, there is always the expected “thoughts and prayers” claim that is said by every company and politician under the sun.
Walmart Inc.’s newest policy has called for the end of some ammunition types in their stores. Handgun ammo, as well as .223 and 5.56 caliber bullets used in assault weapons, will no longer be available for purchase.
It’s about time a proactive choice was made in an effort to prevent future mass shootings.
This new policy change is in response to not only the El Paso shooting, but also the Dayton, Ohio and Midland-Odessa, Texas shootings too.
When combined, the total numbers of those three shootings are 39 killed and 71 injured.
After a shooting in an El Paso Walmart where more than 20 people were killed, there was a major controversy when Walmart decided to pull any violent ads for movies or video games off the shelves as a response to the shooting.
Walmart’s previous tone-deaf response felt like it was only appealing to the latest scapegoat politicians had been using to blame for the shooting.
Even though it won’t be the final solution, the company is making the choice to lose those sales in an effort to separate themselves from this violence.
There are politicians in office like Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick who believe video games are the cause for mass shootings.
Texas Rep. Matt Schaefer who proposes that instead of making a change with gun laws, everyone should “pray for victims” and “pray for protection.”
Putting the blame on the video game industry is only deterring from finding an actual solution, and even if it personally helps someone to pray for protection, those prayers are not going to stop someone from shooting at people in a public space.
There is no situation where one would need to go into a grocery store and purchase their baby’s formula and dinner for the family along with a pack of assault weapon ammunition.
This effort makes buying ammunition more difficult, but doesn’t get rid of it entirely.
If people need to go purchase the ammunition at a specialty store, that isn’t a problem. The added step helps limit the ease of the purchase and can help keep it out of the hands of someone who can just walk into a grocery store and buy it.
Walmart hopes this new policy lowers their 20% share of the ammunitions market to 6%. Additionally, the company is asking for customers not to openly carry firearms unless they are a law enforcement officer.
There isn’t a reason to openly carry an assault rifle into a public space, as it does nothing but make others uncomfortable.
Open carry paints an ugly picture of gun ownership, and just looks irresponsible.
Walmart has received backlash with this policy change from the NRA, in which they see this as “shameful to see Walmart succumb to the pressure of the anti-gun elites.”
It is expected for the NRA to have a strong opinion against this, and that’s understandable due to the organization’s constant fight to keep guns in a positive light.
However, after years of seeing no one do anything this new and drastically different change is genuinely exciting and opens the door for new ideas to be put into practice in the future.
