Walmart to Raise Minimum Age to 21 for Gun Purchases
As Wednesday started, it was revealed Dick's Sporting Goods would no longer sell assault-style rifles and high capacity magazines as well as raising the age to purchase a firearm to 21, another major retailer is changing its polices.
Walmart is raising the minimum age to purchase firearms and ammunition from 18 to 21 and they will be removing items from its website resembling assault style rifles, including non-lethal air soft guns and toys.
Here is the retailer's official statement:
"In light of recent events, we’ve taken an opportunity to review our policy on firearm sales. Going forward, we are raising the age restriction for purchase of firearms and ammunition to 21 years of age. We will update our processes as quickly as possible to implement this change.
In 2015, Walmart ended sales of modern sporting rifles, including the AR-15. We also do not sell handguns, except in Alaska where we feel we should continue to offer them to our customers. Additionally, we do not sell bump stocks, high-capacity magazines and similar accessories. We have a process to monitor our eCommerce marketplace and ensure our policies are applied.
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. The law would allow the sale of a firearm if no response to a background check request has been received within three business days, but our policy prohibits the sale until an approval is given.
We are also removing items from our website resembling assault-style rifles, including nonlethal airsoft guns and toys. Our heritage as a company has always been in serving sportsmen and hunters, and we will continue to do so in a responsible way."
The school shooting in Parkland, Florida took place exactly two weeks ago Wednesday.