OPINION:
Walmart, not to be outdone by Dick’s Sporting Goods, has jumped aboard the gun ban trade and sent out a corporate letter that makes clear its own stores would be restricting sales of firearms and ammunition to those above age 21.
And with a sort of “oh yeah, how ’bout this” flip of the ace card, Walmart also announced it was barring sales of toy guns, too.
Toy guns. Really now, is this where we are as a society?
“We are also removing items from our website resembling assault-style rifles, including nonlethal airsoft guns and toys,” the company said in a statement.
Why?
Why, this all comes “in light of recent events,” Walmart said, an obvious reference to the shooting deaths of 17 in Parkland, Florida. It’s also a not-so-veiled recognition of the public pressure that’s being put on politicians and companies that sell firearms from those of the far left who insist that guns, not people, kill.
SEE ALSO: Dick’s egregious if ‘even one life is saved’ gun control lie
Dick’s just announced that it would no longer sell “assault-style rifles,” high-capacity magazine and bump stocks and those under the age of 21 would be barred from buying firearms. And, as CEO Edward Stack said in a letter to the public, Dick’s is also going to press politicians to do the same — to enact more gun control measures because hey, if “even one life is saved” by cracking down on the Second Amendment, well then, “it will have been worth it.”
It will have been worth watering constitutional rights for all.
Walmart doesn’t sell bump stocks, high-capacity magazines and handguns — except in Alaska — and already banned sales of AR-15s back in 2015. So what’s a good retail competitor to do to grab the public’s attention?
Ban sales of toy guns.
“We take seriously our obligation to be a responsible seller of firearms and go beyond federal law by requiring customers to pass a background check before purchasing any firearm,” Walmart said.
OK. But booting toy guns from the lineup?
If the logic is that toy guns turn youth into violent offenders, then shouldn’t Walmart also ban sales of movies with guns, music that glorifies gun violence and video games that contain shooting?
After all, if toys are so corrupting, then songs, games and movies are as well.
• Cheryl Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com or on Twitter, @ckchumley.
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