CVS joins other companies asking customers not to carry guns

CVS asked its customers to no longer carry firearms into its stores in a statement released Thursday after a series of recent mass shootings.

“We support the efforts of individuals and groups working to prevent gun violence and continually review our policies and procedures to ensure our stores remain a safe environment,” the company announced in a statement on Twitter Thursday.

“We join a growing chorus of business in requesting that our customers, other than authorized law enforcement personnel, do not bring firearms into our stores,” the company continued.

CVS Health Updates Firearms in Stores Policy pic.twitter.com/0ODx6ewJNX

— CVS Health (@CVSHealth) September 5, 2019

The company’s announcement arrives on the heels of several similar announcements made by other major retailers like Walgreens, Walmart and Kroger this week.

Walmart asked its customers not to openly carry firearms in its stores following a mass shooting at an El Paso, Texas, store last month that left 22 dead.

{mosads}“We’ve also been listening to a lot of people inside and outside our company as we think about the role we can play in helping to make the country safer,” Doug McMillon, president and CEO of Walmart Inc., said in a letter to associates then. “It’s clear to us that the status quo is unacceptable.” 

Along with the request, the chain also announced that it will be formally ending handgun sales and discontinuing sales of certain types of ammunition. 

The move came after survivors of a mass shooting at an El Paso store filed a lawsuit against the mega-retailer late last month. 

In the lawsuit, which was brought against Walmart Inc. and Wal-Mart Stores Texas LLC, the victims said that they were not seeking monetary compensation but instead the reason as to why the store did not have more adequate security measures in place to prevent the shooting.