Warren calls on Walmart to stop selling guns

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) on Friday called upon Walmart to stop selling guns after a mass shooting was carried out in one of its stores.

“Companies that sell guns have a responsibility to the safety of their communities,” Warren, a 2020 presidential candidate, wrote in a series of tweets. “@Walmart is one of the largest gun retailers in the world.”

Warren also said that she stands with March for Our Lives, the American Federation of Teachers and Guns Down America as they are also urging Walmart to no longer sell firearms. 

Sometimes, companies recognize that they have an obligation to the lives, health, and safety of their communities. In 2014, for example, CVS voluntarily stopped selling tobacco products. Cigarette sales went down, and more smokers tried to quit. That’s progress.

— Elizabeth Warren (@ewarren) August 9, 2019

Companies that sell guns have a responsibility to the safety of their communities. @Walmart is one of the largest gun retailers in the world. The weapons they sell are killing their own customers and employees. No profit is worth those lives. Do the right thing—stop selling guns.

— Elizabeth Warren (@ewarren) August 9, 2019 

I’m standing with @gunsdownamerica, @AMarch4OurLives, and @AFTunion as they rally this weekend to urge @Walmart to stop selling guns. I hope you’ll join them. https://t.co/lmuPztbfwN

— Elizabeth Warren (@ewarren) August 9, 2019

Dan Bartlett, Walmart’s executive vice president for corporate affairs tweeted Friday saying that the company does not sell handguns except in Alaska or military style rifles. 

 “We will be thoughtful and deliberate in our response to El Paso,” he wrote.

Walmart doesn’t sell handguns (except in Alaska) or military-style rifles. We’ve also increased purchase age & don’t make any sale without government-approved background check. We will be thoughtful and deliberate in our response to El Paso. https://t.co/fbKQwldMZs

— Dan Bartlett (@danbartlett6) August 9, 2019

{mosads}

Warren’s tweets follow a mass shooting at a Walmart in El Paso, Texas, that left 22 people dead and helped renew attention on American gun violence.

Walmart said in a tweet after the shooting that it was “praying for the victims, the community & our associates, as well as the first responders.”

The company stopped selling semi-automatic weapons in 2015, it said at the time.

Warren is among the two dozen people seeking the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination and has polled near the top of the crowded field in recent months.