Two of the nation’s leading sellers of guns are Walmart and Dick’s Sporting Goods, and they‘re finally taking a much-needed political stance. This past week, they’ve decided to limit sales of firearms and join the controversial debate that millions of Americans are having over gun control following the tragic Parkdale shooting and innumerable others.
Hard-working and impassioned survivors of the shooting, along with the many Americans, demand an answer to why we keep losing lives when there’s a common-sense solution. Fortunately, retailers are really starting to take notice and contribute to gun law reforms which are so desperately needed.
Walmart started by announcing it would no longer sell guns to anyone under age 21, as well as ceasing to sell items that resemble assault rifles, such as air guns and toys. This might not seem like enough for some people, but for making as much profit as they do off guns, this is a good start for a massive corporation like Walmart who can’t afford to go cold turkey.
After all, just three years ago in 2015, they discontinued the sale of high-powered rifles, including AR-15 rifles in their U.S. stores. Previously, they were hesitant to get too involved in gun politics, but we’re proud of them for taking a stance when it matters most; they released a statement after this recent decision which said the choice was made “in light of recent events.”
Dicks Sporting Goods stepped things up a notch by employing the 21 and older update that Walmart did, along with immediately ending the sale of all assault-style rifles and high-capacity magazines in their stores.
While upping the age limit is impressive and deals and might help prevent more high school tragedies, it only helps part of the issue. 21 still falls under the bracket of most university and college students which have a history of just as many tragedies on campus.
We look forward to seeing if other corporations who were on the NRA’s side will finally take a stand and contribute to social change, but while these corporations leading by example makes a difference, we’re not sure how big. They only make up 12 percent of the assault rifles sold in America, with the majority of sales being in independent shops. it’s proven nearly impossible for the old conservative dogs of America to learn a new trick. So hopefully, the fiery activism of our rallying youth will be a marker of change, this time around. We can only hope.
