Customers will no longer be able to pick up AR-15s or other assault rifles while they shop for detergent or Diet Coke at Walmart, a company spokesman told Quartz on Wednesday. Despite the decision coming in the thick of a renewed national gun debate following a summer of high profile shootings, including one today, the retailer says the decision is due to diminished demand rather than politics. The guns, known as "modern sporting rifles," will be replaced by shotguns or other hunting weapons.
"This happens to get more attention because of what the product is," Walmart spokesman Kory Lundberg said. "The decision was completely based on what customers are buying and what they want."
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