Walmart will no longer sell AR-15s and other assault rifles


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."
Politics surrounding shootings have influenced Walmart policy before, however: The company previously banned the sale of Confederate flag merchandise after the Charleston shooting suspect was linked to racist comments and beliefs.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.
-
The jobs most at risk from AI
The Explainer Sales and customer services are touted as some of the key jobs that will be replaced by AI
-
Eighty years after Hiroshima: how close is nuclear conflict?
Today's Big Question Eight decades on from the first atomic bomb 'we have blundered into a new age of nuclear perils'
-
Valle dell'Erica Thalasso & Spa: a tranquil haven in Sardinia
The Week Recommends This family-friendly resort is steps from the sea and boasts a well-equipped kids' club
-
Samsung to make Tesla chips in $16.5B deal
Speed Read Tesla has signed a deal to get its next-generation chips from Samsung
-
FCC greenlights $8B Paramount-Skydance merger
Speed Read The Federal Communications Commission will allow Paramount to merge with the Hollywood studio Skydance
-
Tesla reports plummeting profits
Speed Read The company may soon face more problems with the expiration of federal electric vehicle tax credits
-
Dollar faces historic slump as stocks hit new high
Speed Read While stocks have recovered post-Trump tariffs, the dollar has weakened more than 10% this year
-
Economists fear US inflation data less reliable
speed read The Labor Department is collecting less data for its consumer price index due to staffing shortages
-
Crypto firm Coinbase hacked, faces SEC scrutiny
Speed Read The Securities and Exchange Commission has also been investigating whether Coinbase misstated its user numbers in past disclosures
-
Starbucks baristas strike over dress code
speed read The new uniform 'puts the burden on baristas' to buy new clothes, said a Starbucks Workers United union delegate
-
Warren Buffet announces surprise retirement
speed read At the annual meeting of Berkshire Hathaway, the billionaire investor named Vice Chairman Greg Abel his replacement