There’s enough pushback against Walmart entering the Washington market as it is — but one can only imagine what the response would be like if the retailer wanted to sell guns at four locations inside the District. Since Walmart announced its plans to open up shop in Washington last November, some have wondered how the gun-friendly retailer would cope with the District’s strict gun regulations. After all, if Walmart was interested in selling firearms in the District like it does in Maryland and Virginia, it’d involve a whole lot more than simply filling a space with some shotguns, rifles and ammo and slapping on some price tags.
Michael F. Cannon, blogging for the Cato@Liberty blog, even suggested that Walmart should actively try to clear such regulatory hurdles:
Wal-Mart could do even more good for District residents if these four new stores sold guns. That would quintuple the number of firearms retailers in the District, make self-defense affordable for low-income residents, and might just add some lobbying heft to the campaign to roll back D.C.’s ridiculous gun regulations.
Well, Cannon should prepare to be disappointed.
“Our D.C. stores will not offer firearms,” Walmart spokesperson Steven Restivo tells DCist. “As always, we strive to provide products that are relevant to customer needs and ensure our merchandise selections reflect the items that our customers want to buy. Satisfying the customer is our number one goal.”
It’s not an unheard of decision for the company. In 2006, Walmart made the decision to stop selling guns in about 1,000 of its American stores due to “diminished customer relevancy and demand.”
Additionally, Walmart has adopted the voluntary 10-point code of conduct regarding best retail practices established by Mayors Against Illegal Guns. (Former mayor Adrian Fenty was a member of the coalition; current Mayor Vince Gray — while he has yet to join the coalition as a member — is a strident supporter of gun control.) “We’ve already put some of [the 10 points] in place and we’re making progress on the rest,” said Restrivo.
