Guns: how much longer will it take ....

Firearms and Ammunition Guidelines
Walmart has a long heritage as a company of serving hunters and sportsmen and women. Our focus has always been to do so responsibly, including taking many measures that go beyond what’s required by law.

Where We Sell Firearms and Ammunition
Walmart sells firearms in approximately half of our U.S. supercenter stores. While we are not the largest volume firearms seller in the United States, we do serve many areas of the country where there is a concentration of hunters and sportsmen/women.

Items We Sell
Walmart sells long guns for hunting and sport shooting, including shotguns, single-shot hunting rifles and light sporting rifles, as well as BB and pellet guns.

Items We Don’t Sell
Walmart does not sell military-style rifles, such as the AR-15, or any type of AR-15 accessory, including bump stocks and high-capacity magazines. These items are also listed on our prohibited items list for online marketplace sellers. We have a process to monitor our eCommerce marketplace and help ensure our policies are applied.

As of September 2019, we have discontinued the sale of:

handguns, which were previously sold only in our Alaska stores
ammunition for handguns
ammunition for short-barrel rifles such as the .223 caliber and 5.56 caliber that, while commonly used in some hunting rifles, can also be used in large-capacity clips on military-style weapons
ammunition like the .300 Blackout, 7.62x.39 and .224 Valkyrie
Who Can Buy Firearms and Ammunition at Walmart
In February 2018, we announced our decision to sell firearms and ammunition only to individuals who are 21 and older.

Walmart only sells a firearm after receiving a “green light” on a background check. This goes beyond federal law, which only requires the absence of a “red light” after a three-business day waiting period. We require a “green light,” regardless of the time period.

Selling Firearms Responsibly
Walmart takes steps above and beyond what is required by law to sell firearms in a responsible way, including:

videotaping the point of sale for firearms;
allowing only select associates who have passed a criminal background check to sell firearms;
conducting regular associate training;
performing inventory audits; and
securing firearms in a locking case, among other important measures.
Walmart associates who are authorized to sell firearms are specifically trained on all firearm policies and procedures. Associates who fail to follow the policies and procedures are subject to discipline, up to and including termination.

Walmart is a charter member of the Responsible Firearms Retailer Partnership, organized by Walmart and Everytown for Gun Safety.

We have committed to work alongside other retailers to make the overall industry safer, including sharing our own best practices. This system navigates tens of millions of possible combinations of federal, state and local laws, regulations and licensing requirements that come into effect based on where a firearm is sold and who is purchasing. We hope that freely sharing this information will help more retailers sell firearms in a responsible, compliant manner.

Open Carry of Firearms
Motivated by our desire to create a safe environment in our stores and clubs, we request that customers no longer openly carry firearms into Walmart or Sam’s Club locations in states where open carry is permitted – unless they are authorized law enforcement. As of September 2019, we are working to create and display new signage to help communicate this policy.

We will continue to follow state and local laws regarding concealed carry permit holders.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 14, 2008
WAL-MART AND MAYORS AGAINST ILLEGAL GUNS ANNOUNCE "RESPONSIBLE FIREARMS
RETAILER PARTNERSHIP": A 10-POINT VOLUNTARY CODE
The Voluntary Code - A Set of Retail Best Practices - Goes Beyond What is Required by Law
Wal-Mart and the bi-partisan coalition of Mayors Against Illegal Guns today 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. The Responsible Firearms Retailer Partnership, created
by Mayors Against Illegal Guns and Wal-Mart, is a set of policies that will be implemented over time that includes
video recording of sales, rigid controls on inventory, checks that gun purchasers are not misrepresenting themselves
and the development of a first-of-its kind computerized crime gun trace log for retailers. The new crime gun trace
log will flag purchases by customers who have previously bought guns later recovered in crimes. Mayors Against
Illegal Guns and Wal-Mart developed the code to curb some of the most common ways guns end up in the hands of
criminals. Wal-Mart will implement the 10-point code at its stores where firearms are sold. The announcement was
made at the Mayors Against Illegal Guns National Summit, where representatives from 60 cities gathered to discuss
ways to keep guns out of the hands of criminals, held at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center
in Washington, D.C.
"We know the ways that guns can end up being used in crimes. Now a responsible and innovative company has
stood up with our over-300 member coalition of mayors to strengthen their sales practices to keep guns out of the
hands of criminals," said New York City Mayor and coalition co-chair Michael R. Bloomberg. "I've always believed
in leading by example, and Wal-Mart has again demonstrated why it's a great American company. The Responsible
Firearms Retailer Partnership makes good sense - it will have no impact on a well-intentioned and law-abiding gun
buyer - but will help keep Americans safer."
"Wal-Mart currently uses a strong point of sale system that allows us to serve the many hunters and outdoorsmen
who've made us their retailer of choice, while also ensuring the responsible sale of firearms," said JP Suarez, senior
vice president and chief compliance officer, Wal-Mart. "This code is a way for us to fine tune the things we're
already doing and further strengthen our standards. We hope other retailers will join us in adopting the code."
"Partnerships like this one emphasize our mission to keep illegal guns off our streets, and reinforces that we are not
cracking down on legal gun owners and the Second Amendment," said Boston Mayor and coalition co-chair Thomas
M. Menino. "This is about public safety and I want to thank Wal-Mart for taking responsibility and being a leader in
this area. This code of contact will have no impact on the rights of responsible gun owners, but will help mayors and
our law enforcement stop the proliferation of illegal guns."
The Responsible Firearms Retailer Partnership is designed to strengthen the points in the gun purchasing system that
criminals have exploited in the past. According to the US Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives
(ATF), 46% of its criminal gun trafficking investigations involved straw purchasers, where someone who is not
legally allowed to purchase a firearm does so through the use of a proxy, known as a straw buyer. Examples of the
provisions in the Responsible Firearms Retailer Partnership intended to deter and stop illegal purchasers are
videotaped sales, increased monitoring of fake IDs, the crime gun trace log, and increased training for employees to
spot illegal purchases. Additionally, the inventory controls and increased physical security for firearms in the
Responsible Firearms Retailer Partnership are intended to stem lost and stolen guns, which ATF reports often make
their way into the illegal market.
The 10 points of the Responsible Firearms Retailer Partnership are:
1. Videotaping the Point of Sale for All Firearms Transactions. Participating retailers will videotape the pointof-sale of all firearms transactions and maintain videos for 6 months to deter illegal purchases and monitor
employees.
2. Computerized Crime Gun Trace Log and Alert System. Mayors Against Illegal Guns will develop a
computerized system that participating retailers will implement over time to log crime gun traces relating to the
retailer. Once the program is in place, if a customer who has a prior trace at that retailer attempts to purchase a
firearm, the sale will be electronically flagged. The retailer would have discretion to proceed with the sale or
stop the sale.
3. Purchaser Declaration. For sales flagged by the trace alert system, participating retailers will ask purchasers to
fill out a declaration indicating that they meet the legal requirement to purchase the firearm.
4. Deterring Fake IDs. Participating retailers will only accept valid federal- or state-issued picture IDs as primary
identification. Retailers will utilize additional ID checking mechanisms.
5. Consistent Visible Signage. Participating retailers will post signage created by the Responsible Firearms
Retailer Partnership to alert customers of their legal responsibilities at the point-of-sale.
6. Employee Background Checks. Participating retailers will conduct criminal background checks for all
employees selling or handling firearms.
7. Employee Responsibility Training. Participating retailers will participate in an employee responsibility
training program focused on deterring illegal purchasers. The Responsible Firearms Retailer Partnership will
create an online training system based on Wal-Mart's training program.
8. Inventory Checking. Participating retailers will conduct daily and quarterly audits. Guidelines will be based on
Wal-Mart's existing audit procedures.
9. No Sales Without Background Check Results. Participating retailers would prohibit sales based on "default
proceeds," which are permitted by law when the background check has not returned a result within 3 days.
10. Securing Firearms. Participating retailers will maintain firearms kept in customer accessible areas in locked
cases or locked to racks.
Participating retailers will phase in the provisions of Responsible Firearms Retailer Partnership over time.
A new national poll conducted jointly by Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research and The Tarrance Group and released
last week found that Americans overwhelmingly support measures like those included in the Responsible Firearms
Retailer Partnership. For example, 91 percent of Americans favor requiring gun stores to do background checks on
employees. According to the poll, 93 percent of gun owners said being video taped in a store while purchasing
firearms would make no difference to them or would make them more likely to purchase a firearm from that retailer.

The NRA wasn't always staunchly opposed to gun restrictions

Many are surprised to learn that the NRA of past generations worked with the federal government to limit the traffic in guns — for example, where ex-convicts or mental patients were involved.

When handguns became the focus, the NRA spawned a subgroup devoted to them and supported state-level permit requirements for concealed weapons.
In the Prohibition Era, the conversation changed again with the urban use of shotguns and the fully automatic Thompson gun.

These lurid hallmarks of bank robbers and warring gangsters became a target for lawmakers. In the legislating beehive of Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal, the National Firearms Act of 1934 and the Gun Control Act of 1938 regulated such guns, banned some buyers and made gun dealers register with the government.

The NRA worked with Congress and the White House on those acts and supported their enforcement. The same was true when these restrictions were extended and tightened following the 1963 assassination of President John F. Kennedy, and again by a 1968 gun bill responding to the assassinations of Martin Luther King Jr. and Sen. Robert Kennedy.

But in the late 1960s, there was also widespread concern about rising crime rates and the deadly riots that flared in the nation's major cities. Citizens were concerned about their safety and turned to gun purchases for their personal protection. And many NRA members wanted their organization to get out in front of that.

The hard-liners took over the NRA after an NRA member was killed by federal agents.

In 1971, agents of the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms killed an NRA member who was hiding a large number of illegal weapons. This, too, stirred a restive reaction within the NRA rank and file. To address it, the NRA's top managers created the group's first lobbying organ, the Institute for Legislative Action, in 1975.

The ILA was headed by a Texas lawyer named Harlon Carter, an immigration hawk who had headed of the Border Patrol in the 1950s.
"You don't stop crime by attacking guns," he said. "You stop crime by stopping criminals."

Hard-charging and uncompromising, Carter was soon at odds with the Old Guard of the parent NRA, who downsized his ILA staff. He fought back by organizing an uprising at the annual NRA convention in 1977 and forcing the power struggle to burst into the open.

In the end, Carter won, ascending to NRA's de facto leadership as its executive vice president. He installed another hard-liner, Neal Knox, to head the ILA. The new marching orders were to oppose all forms of gun control across the board and lobby aggressively for gun owners' rights in Congress and the legislatures.

Yeah, there's always one person...
So here you go...

It depends on what you call "extensive" training. If by chance on online course that lasts 30 minutes with a 25 question test once a year is your criteria, then, yes, that's probably more "extensive" than you had in the 90's. But it's not nearly enough.

And yes, I have seen the article about the clueless person trying to buy a gun at Walmart. I file that under "Stupid People Tricks" that I believe Jay Leno had a comedy bit about. For starters, she was not ever serious to purchase a gun in the first place. Second, whining about spending an hour on the phone looking for an authorized Walmart was funny to me. And not at least matching her current address to a legal ID was comical too. It wasn't a commentary about Walmart gun policy, it was comedic relief for the tragically bored.

If that's the best you've got...

It's not enough? What else would you like to see them have, a degree in psychology?

What you call a clueless person trying to buy a gun, I call a reporter who thought she already had her story wrote but got the real info when she actually tried. She wasn't the first reporter to try this trick of "how easy is it to buy a gun" and been proven that it isn't as easy as they think it is. She got herself an education in buying guns. It was another failure by the leftist media.

A license.
https://www.atf.gov/file/100871/download

One would think having a qualified sales force would be a good thing.

You're acting like guns should be sold as easy as mac-n-chz. I don't.

I disagree. The only training Walmart does is to teach how to hand out a piece of paper and enter the info into a computer, If the results come back green, that's a sale, if it's red, it's not. That's the extent of their "extensive" training.

I prefer someone who knows the difference between an air soft gun and a 12 gauge shot gun. So, yeah, Walmart should not be in the business of selling guns or related items.

And for God's sake, quit thinking that article was real in any way.

The label "assault style weapon" should end the semantic debate over the gun label.

They weren't killed with some other weapon. They were killed with a gun.

That is the point you seem unable to process.

Year after year, they're killed with guns.

Hey, good work, oralloy, your team seems to have added walmart as the latest go-to spot for mass murder.

Oralloy and others on here have their fingers on the trigger each time a mass shooting occurs.

There are certain laws already in place that have so many loopholes it renders the law inefficient and futile. Background checks are a focal point, such as, why isn't every gun sold under every circumstance included?

Why are there different waiting periods in different states? Age requirements?

You have to carry car insurance but there's no law that requires gun insurance. It's only covered in a miscellaneous personal property amount, and don't even have to prove ownership if a home invasion happens and weapons were stolen.

I had invested several hours across two days on this. If I were actually in the market for a rifle, I would have gone to a local gun shop instead after about five minutes of trying to figure out which Walmart stores sold guns.