Kroger requests shoppers no longer openly carry guns in its stores

(Image credit: Scott Olson/Getty Images)

published 4 September 2019

The retail company Kroger on Tuesday "respectfully" asked shoppers to no longer openly carry weapons into its stores, unless they are authorized law enforcement officers.

"We are also joining those encouraging our elected leaders to pass laws that will strengthen background checks and remove weapons from those who have been found to pose a risk for violence," Jessica Adelman, group vice president of corporate affairs, told CNBC in a statement.

Kroger operates supermarkets, department stores, and jewelry stores across the United States, and in 2018, stopped selling firearms and ammunition in its Fred Meyer locations in the Pacific Northwest. This was a "conscious decision," Adelman said, and Kroger has "demonstrated with our actions that we recognize the growing chorus of Americans who are no longer comfortable with the status quo and who are advocating for concrete and common sense gun reforms."

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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.

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