Walmart will be moving its firearms and ammunition off the sales floor at some stores in the wake of nationwide protests following the death of George Floyd.
The Bentonville retailer announced that while the firearms and ammunition will not be displayed, they will still be available for purchase. However, the items will reportedly be held in a “secure room.”
“As a responsible seller of hunting and sporting firearms, we have temporarily removed firearms and ammunition from the sales floor in some stores out of an abundance of caution,” the company said in a statement.
The decision to shift firearms and ammunition from the sales floor comes as retailers across the country have been looted during the largely peaceful protests. However, Walmart has taken the items off the floor as a precautionary measure, citing it as an “abundance of caution.”
Walmart has taken measures on weapon sales in recent years, including stopping the sale of assault-type weapons, including AR-15, in 2015. The company also stopped selling handgun ammunition and short-barrel rifle ammunition, including .223 caliber and 5.56 caliber, in 2019. Walmart had discontinued all handgun sales in the United States, except for Alaska, in the 1990s, but the retailer discontinued those sales in 2019.
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