Is Wal-Mart About To Become The Next Dick’s Sporting Goods?

33
3955

Well, it seems that anti-gunners may have won a victory in New Mexico. Two new gun control laws went into effect on July 1st of this year (2019), and Wal-Mart’s response was to stop selling firearms in their locations in that state.

An article at the NRA’s America’s First Freedom site gives us the sad details:

On July 22, Wal-Mart stores in New Mexico will cease all firearms sales in the state due to new gun laws that went into effect in July requiring background checks on sales of nearly all firearms.

Tiffany Wilson, director of communications for Wal-Mart Stores Inc., said “the new law would require Walmart associates to handle and potentially store handguns and modern sporting rifles, which are types of firearms that Walmart does not sell and associates are not trained to handle or render safe,” according to a local news report.

She noted that Wal-Mart outlets in New Mexico cater “to hunters and sporting clay enthusiasts” and do “not sell modern sporting rifles such as the AR-15.”

Also, Wal-Mart is not currently equipped or designed to conduct background checks for private-party transfers under New Mexico’s new firearms law. 

Now, what is odd about Wal-Mart’s statement about this situation is that the article from the NRA also mentions that local media says that background checks by businesses (such as Wal-Mart) were already in place, and the new background check mandated by the law is to require them for private party sales including gun shows.

Advertisement

In other words, we may not be getting the real reason behind Wal-Mart’s decision to stop carrying firearms which makes you wonder what else is going on with the retail giant. It’s hard to imagine that they aren’t aware of the big drop in sales that Dick’s Sporting Goods experienced when they made that decision. Shareholders are unlikely to be happy with the result of Wal-Mart’s decision because they are likely to experience a big sales slump when this happens later this month.

So, we’ll see if Wal-Mart changes their tune and decides to sell firearms again when they have to answer to shareholders to get sales back up.

Advertisement

33 COMMENTS

  1. This is nothing new. Wal-Mart has brought firearms in and out of their stores for decades depending on local laws, sales and a host of other reasons.

  2. My understanding of the law is that it would require Walmart, as a licensed firearms dealer, to process background checks for private sales like gun shows. This would require people to bring their private firearms into Walmart, Walmart would need to store those firearms while the background check was taking place, and the only money Walmart gets to make from this is the background check fee. I think Walmart feels is this is an undue burden on their staff, who may or may not be knowledgeable about firearm safety. It would also require the staff to know how to clear and make safe any type of firearm brought into the store, not just the types of firearms that Walmart sells.

    • I think that’s correct, Mike. If they don’t want their employees handling private sales and storing weapons, I understand their decision. I disagree with Walmart choosing not to sell AR-15s, but that is their business choice. At least they aren’t, yet, lobbying against the 2nd Amendment.

    • Who in their right mind would go to a gun dealer to do a background check for a private sale? Only an idiot would do a background check for a private sale, since the sale is between two individuals, the state does not have a need to know about firearm transfers regardless of what the idiots in government says. Doing background checks is in essence creating a list of firearm owners.

      • Your last line is what it’s all about, the gun grabbers want to know who, where and how many guns a person may have so that when they send in the waffen SS they will get all of them. make no mistake this is the end goal for them.

  3. Walmart has already become the next dicks! Unless your looking for a daisy red Rider or a muzzle loader and that’s only at “select stores” here in the south by me, they don’t sell “firearms”! The ammo section is poor at best and priced double of anyone’s prices and limited to two boxes. Age limited to 21 or older or the Walmart stores have just done away with the firearms and hunting sections all together!!! So yeah, Walmart is the new DICKS!!! They suck em too!

    • Why would you buy a firearm at walmart or any other gun dealer, when there are plenty of people willing to do private gun sales? Buying a gun from a dealer creates an unofficial gun registration list. A dealer has to open his records annually to BATF inspectors and the inspectors make copies of those records. Plus when a dealer goes out of business, those records go to the government.

      • If you do purchase a firearm from an FFL, make it a small one, which has two advantages:

        First, most of them only keep a manual record of sales which cannot be accessed remotely by the ATF or anyone else, and makes it significantly more difficult to track an individual’s purchases.

        Second, you are more likely to be able to strike a better deal, at worst, get a match of the big box stores….some even just tack on a nominal amount if you place an order with them for something they do not have in the store.

  4. This is New Mexico’s new law having effect. The law requires Any FFL Holder to do a background check for private sales on demand. Rather than deal with the training issues, liability issues and God knows what else. Walmart shut down gun sales in New Mexico, and each store will surrender its FFL rather than deal with this crap. This is why the law wasn’t well thought out. Go to any Walmart, and there are periods of time where there is no employee trained for gun sales in sporting goods at various hours. Any Store or Co manager (3 people) can do the sale. Asst. Managers aren’t trained for it. Good luck finding the Store or Co’s at those odd hours. The only thing I buy at Walmart is targets.

    • New Mexico is a dysfunctional state with a super leftist governor – basically another AOC. This is about as well thought out as most of the laws in NM. Unfortunately, as a sanctuary state run by the inmates, it will probably never admit that they screwed it up. They did the same when they decided to allow illegals to get driver’s licenses – then the federal government told them TSA could not recognize the NM licenses as valid to show your citizenship when you are taking a flight somewhere. Oops! What a bunch of clowns!

  5. who the hell is going to bring their guns to wal mart to do a private gun sale , these politicians are about thee dumbest people on the planet , they will sell their guns like they always do . Another infringement on your 2nd amendment right . it’s not about gun control it’s about controlling you!!!!!

  6. Glenn,
    Sounds like the state of NM, is requiring a retail store to do the work that the state AG should have to set up and operate. Many states have the requirements for background checks and in Colorado that check is done through CBI at a cost of $20.00. The only reason NM is doing this is to take away our 2nd Amendment rights to purchase firearms at a reasonable price. Another Liberal government go around to prevent the citizens their God given right of self defense.

  7. Well welcome to kalifornia Walmart did that a few years ago here and now they are probably going to do the same thing with ammo so we have the USSCA next the USSNM

    • Why buy from a gun shop, when there are probably a lot of gun owners willing to do private sales? No background check and no paper trail.

  8. Who was STUPID enough to support these politicians, how could they even be in office especially in a state like New Mexico, has the whole country gone completely crazy!!!!!!!!!!

    • There are plenty of leftist-marxist wanna-bees in America, especially the ones running our schools that are pumping out leftist-marxist mirror copies of themselves and yes, they WANT to be controlled! They want to be told what to do, when to do it, and how to live daily. That is nirvana for them. It boggles the mind but these people are Borg-minded (Star Trek) and they love living slavishly in the collective. They fear being responsible for themselves. Sadly most of humanity throughout history has shown they would rather live in servile destitution than run the risk of being free to fail or succeed for themselves.

  9. Never have herd of any gun issue in NM, Very rural for most of the state. Have to drive long ways to get anywhere. Why such problems in NM? of all places.

  10. Never saw a gun deal in Wallyworld although have found some ammo bargains over the years.If a company is too afraid to stand up to Liberals then maybe best if they just fold up and quit

  11. Well,here in Washington State the stupid people passed 1-1639 and later 1-1739 (without a vote). You talk about gun control for the law abiding citizen, you need to read it. This does not stop the criminals, they have rights.

  12. This is a truck load of crap!! Wal-Mart associates are not allowed by Wal-Mart policy to remove any firearms from the store gun vault without a manager present!!! The manager accompanies the Associate with the firearm to the counter of point of sales. The firearm is placed inside the gun display case while the sale is being made! The background check is made and if cleared by law enforcement the sale moves foreward. The Associate follows all laws and protocols during the sale. The boxes for the firearms on display are kept in the gun vault also. Same policies apply of the manager to open the gun vault to release the box belonging to the firearm being sold. This is the only instance that the manager does not have to accompany the Associate to the point of sales counter.
    After the background check is finished and all information verified by the Associate,the Associate calls on the manager on duty to make final verification of info on the form 4473 and the sale is conducted and all fees paid. The box with firearm inside is sealed and the customer and manager leave together and the firearm is released to the customer once outside the store.
    That’s how it’s done. The 4473 form is put into a file box and kept.
    Nothing hard about it.
    The article is smoke screen and is just a declaration of how Wal-Mart is caving in on gun control. Wal-Mart is in partnership with Micheal Bloombergs war on guns! So go figure,it’s not hard !

  13. Not to mention the fact that once you have purchased your gun from a Walmart, the manager parades you out of the store and all the way to your vehicle. They never do that if you buy any kind of kitchen knife.

  14. Another reason for me not to shop at Walmart, besides the total lack of costumer service which is nil. If you are able to find an employee to assist you, good luck finding one who speaks English. I have not been into a Dicks since they suspended firearms sales and started lobbying against the 2nd Amendment. I suspect Walmart will soon follow suit. Go figure

Comments are closed.