Recently, Wal-Mart joined New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg at a gathering of Bloomberg’s anti-gun group, Mayors Against Illegal Guns, to announce a series of changes to the way in which Wal-Mart handles firearm transactions. At the press event, J.P. Suarez, chief compliance officer for Wal-Mart Stores Inc., said: “The costs are, we think, part of what it takes to be responsible.” Suarez also added, "This is not a signal that we're getting out of firearms."
Once these changes are up and running, firearm purchases at Wal-Mart will involve a video record of the sale, which the store will keep on file -- effectively creating a video database of gun purchasers. In addition, Wal-Mart announced that its employees will be given discretion to deny firearms purchases to anyone who has had a firearm traced by BATFE for any reason -- including those who have had a firearm stolen and later used in criminal activity.
Wayne LaPierre, NRA Executive Vice President, said, “I view it as a public relations stunt that stigmatizes law-abiding firearms purchasers exercising their constitutional freedoms. I honestly think it's a corporation trying to curry favor with politicians as opposed to doing anything meaningful about stopping crime.”
If you’d like to let Wal-Mart know what you think about their new policy, please contact them by phone, at (800) 925-6278; or electronically, at http://www.walmartstores.com/contactus/feedback.aspx.
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