Walmart and Kroger Raise Age Limit To Buy Guns and Ammunition
Retail stores Walmart and Kroger announced that they have raised the age requirement to 21 years old for customers looking to purchase guns or ammunition from their stores.
In Walmart’s released statement on Wednesday posted on Twitter, is said “We take seriously our obligation to be a responsible seller of firearms and go beyond Federal law by requiring customers to pass a background check before purchasing any firearm,.”
NEWS: Walmart will be increasing the firearms and ammunition purchasing age to 21 "in light of recent events." pic.twitter.com/hYLW5aeZkR
— Polly Mosendz (@polly) February 28, 2018
Kroger released their statement on Thursday. “Kroger’s vision is to serve America through food inspiration and uplift. In response to the tragic events in Parkland and elsewhere, we’ve taken a hard look at our policies and procedures for firearm sales.” The company, which operates Fred Meyer stores in Washington state, Oregon, Idaho and Alaska, said it previously stopped selling assault-style rifles in three states and would no longer accept special orders of those firearms in Alaska stores.
Read the full statement below:
Kroger’s vision is to serve America through food inspiration and uplift. In response to the tragic events in Parkland and elsewhere, we’ve taken a hard look at our policies and procedures for firearm sales.
We follow all state and local laws regulating the sales of sporting-related firearms at our select general-merchandise Fred Meyer stores.
Recent events demonstrate the need for additional action on the part of responsible gun retailers. We are raising the minimum age to 21 to purchase firearms and ammunition in all of our Fred Meyer locations that sell firearms. We stopped selling assault-style rifles in our Oregon, Washington and Idaho Fred Meyer stores several years ago and we will no longer accept any special-orders of these weapons in Alaska. Through Restock Kroger, we have a robust space optimization effort underway in many of our stores, including Fred Meyer locations. As we refresh stores we are often transitioning gun departments due to softer demand and changing customer preferences.
We believe these are common sense steps we can take immediately that are in line with our values and our vision.”
The move comes after a 19-year-old shooter used an assault-style rifle to open fire at a high school in Parkland, Florida, killing 17 people and injuring more than a dozen.