Wal-Mart to stop selling AR-15, other semi-automatic rifles

Wal-Mart happens to be the nation’s single biggest seller of guns and ammunition, and sells AR-15 rifles and other modern sporting rifles at less than a third of its 4,600 U.S. stores.

Between 2012 and 2013, AR-15s were the weapons of choice for mass-shootings in Connecticut (Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown), Colorado (Aurora movie theater), and California (Los Angeles Airport).

The announcement was made Wednesday, the same day a reporter and cameraman were shot and killed in Virginia during a live broadcast, but the company’s decision was made before that incident.

Toy Week also includes the August 28th launch of Walmart’s holiday layaway program, a full two weeks earlier than past year.

The guns will be removed from store shelved this week as it prepares stores for fall merchandise.

Kory Lundberg, a Walmart spokeman, said that the store will no longer sell any weapons that can hold multiple rounds of ammunition. Modern sporting rifles may be some of the best-selling guns in the country, but gun sales overall are dropping. The clarification came after one of WalMart’s shareholders, Trinity Church in New York, reportedly emphasized for review in the gun sales policy. Nobody at both firm might be reached for remark relating to Wal-Mart’s determination. “We will continue to engage constructively with companies and fellow investors to this end, and we will be discussing with Wal-Mart’s counsel whether there is a basis on which we can agree with them to drop our suit”.

In keeping with that focus, Wal-Mart stopped selling handguns in 1993 and doesn’t sell high-capacity magazines.

Bearing Arms reported that Walmart is selling through its remaining inventory of its now-discontinued guns, and that some Walmart shoppers have been able to purchase a Bushmaster AR-15 for discounted $250. A federal court ruled in July that Wal-Mart could exclude a shareholder proposal that would call on the retailer to reconsider selling potentially unsafe products.