Reporter Tries To Buy Gun At Walmart. Leaves Twice Empty-Handed

Audrey Conklin

Society,

Take a look. 

A journalist for Business Insider tried her luck at buying a gun in a Walmart store and said it was “far more complicated” than she expected after leaving empty-handed. Twice.

Since 22 people were killed in a mass shooting at a Walmart store in El Paso, Texas, on Aug. 3, there have been at least six more threats of potential mass shootings at Walmarts across the country.

More than 134,000 people have signed a petition created by Walmart employees demanding that the store stop selling guns in an effort to “change our company for the better.”

But Walmart, which makes up 2% of all gun sales and 20% of ammunition sales in the U.S., isn’t ready to change anything, according to Walmart CEO Doug McMillon.

“There’s not been any directive to any stores around the country to change any policy. We’re focused on supporting our associates, customers and the entire El Paso community,” Walmart spokesman Randy Hargrove said on Aug. 5, according to a Bloomberg report.

Amid the requests to stop the sale of guns at the retail giant, BI reporter Hayley Peterson decided to see for herself how easy it is to buy a gun at a Walmart “as part of an investigation into the placement, selection, marketing, security and sales of firearms in Walmart’s stores.”

Peterson first notes that only half of Walmart’s 4,700 U.S. stores sell guns, none of which include the ten stores near where she lives. After calling over a dozen people, waiting on hold “for a combined 40 minutes” and speaking to a human representative “only three times,” nobody could tell her which stores sold guns in the area.

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