Walmart Removes, Then Returns, Guns & Ammo Displays At Stores In Response To Week of “Civil Unrest”
The flip-flopping removals were announced ahead of the presidential election as leaders around the country prepare for protests or possible riots.

Walmart is reversing its decision to remove guns and ammunition from store floors, which the company announced earlier this week it would do because of ongoing “civil unrest.” Meanwhile, officials around the country are preparing for the possibility of more civil unrest next week following the results of the presidential election.

According to a Thursday piece from The Wall Street Journal, which first reported the news, Walmart sent a letter to store managers on Wednesday asking that staff remove firearms from shelves, “due to the current unrest in isolated areas of the country and out of an abundance of caution.” The report specified that Walmart said customers could continue to purchase guns and ammunition, but that the products themselves wouldn’t be displayed in the stores.

In a statement to multiple outlets earlier in the week, a Walmart spokesman also said, “We have seen some isolated civil unrest and as we have done on several occasions over the last few years, we have moved our firearms and ammunition off the sales floor as a precaution for the safety of our associates and customers.”

But the company reversed its decision on Friday, making another statement to multiple outlets that said, “After civil unrest earlier this week resulted in damage to several of our stores … we asked stores to move firearms and ammunition from the sales floor …. As the current incidents have remained geographically isolated, we have made the decision to begin returning these products to the sales floor today.”

The Washington Post reported that at least one Walmart in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania was looted during the protest sparked by the police shooting of Walter Wallace Jr.

Walmart has tightened its gun-related policies several times in the past in response to mass shootings and, more recently, nationwide civil rights protests. The company removed firearms and ammo from its sales floors in some of its stores over the summer in the wake of the nationwide unrest that followed the death of George Floyd after an officer kneeled on his neck for 8+ minutes.

In 2019, Walmart announced it would stop selling ammunition that could be used in assault rifles, following two fatal shootings that occurred at its stores that left 24 people dead. In 2018, the company raised the minimum age for buying weapons from 18 to 21 after the mass shooting in Parkland, Florida. In 2015, it stopped selling assault-style rifles after years of public pressure.

State and local officials around the country, including California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) and Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot (D), have already taken steps to prepare for potential civil unrest after the election, including increasing police patrols across the city.

Even foreign countries are taking precautions; New Zealand officials issued a warning to NZ natives living in the United States this week, urging them to avoid areas where demonstrations may occur, as “political activity including rallies and protest activity can be expected in the lead up to the election and the Presidential inauguration.”