Kroger is asking its customers not to openly carry guns in its stores, even in states where the practice is still allowed.
The retail and grocery chain made the announcement Tuesday evening, hours after retail giant Walmart said that it would no longer sell handgun ammunition in its stores. Walmart had also requested that customers not openly carry weapons while shopping.
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The dual announcements come days after a shooting in Texas that killed seven and injured more than 20 others.
“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,” the company said in a statement.
Walmart has faced growing pressure to stop selling guns at its stores after a shooting at one of the company’s locations in El Paso, Texas, by a white supremacist killed 22 customers.
“We know these decisions will inconvenience some of our customers, and we hope they will understand,” Walmart CEO Doug McMillon said. “As a company, we experienced two horrific events in one week, and we will never be the same.”
Kroger said that as part of its new decision to disallow open carry it would be “respectfully asking” shoppers not to openly carry guns, although exact details on enforcement were not provided.
Walmart said it would put up signs at stores asking customers not to open carry, in what it called a “non-confrontational” approach.
Walmart’s announcement drew pushback from the National Rifle Association, which called the move to stop selling handgun ammunition “shameful.”
