NRA called 'domestic terrorist organization' after it slams Walmart's gun-control move as 'shameful'
America is perhaps seeing the beginning of another civil war. After having witnessed the menace of gun violence that kills and injures thousands in the country every year, and with no serious efforts from the establishment to counter it, a fresh trend now seems to be taking hold.
With public outrage over gun violence on the rise and the total lack of effort on part of the government, an unlikely group has taken matters into their own hands: the country’s retailers—first the small ones, and now the biggest, Walmart.
The retailer giant has decided to stop sales of certain gun ammunition and also requested its customers to stop carrying firearms openly in its stores.
Walmart's decision was revealed on Tuesday, September 3, after other retailers like Target, Kroger, Starbucks took similar measures after coming under increasing pressure to restrict sales of guns and ammunition.
The retailer has also decided to stop selling handguns in Alaska, the only state where it was doing so. Walmart’s decision came a month after 20 people were killed in a mass shooting at one of its outlets in El Paso, Texas.
“It is clear to us that the status quo is unacceptable,” Walmart Chief Executive Officer Doug McMillon conveyed in a memo to his employees on Tuesday. For those demanding a curb on gun violence, this could be a big moment as it sends a strong message to the Congress and may force it to take meaningful steps.
“Walmart deserves enormous credit for joining the strong and growing majority of Americans who know that we have too many guns in our country and they are too easy to get,” Associated Press quoted Igor Volsky, executive director and founder of Guns Down America, as saying in a statement.
Walmart represents a very small fragment of the firearms business in the US but activists feel its voice matters.
Following Walmart's decision, which may require it to adjust its business propositions, the National Rifle Association (NRA) lashed out at the retailer. In a tweet, the body outrightly called Walmart’s act “shameful” and accused it of bowing before the anti-gun elites. It also said that the lines at Walmarts will soon be replaced by lines at other retailers who “are more supportive of America’s fundamental freedoms”.
How politicians reacted
Texas Senator Ted Cruz also on Tuesday spoke against gun control. He said gun control is not the way forward. Citing the recent shooting incidents in Chicago, he said disarming law-abiding citizens is not the answer.
The Democrats were obviously on the other end of the spectrum. The party’s hopefuls for the 2020 presidential elections lauded Walmart’s step and agreed that a lot more needs to be done.
Beto O’Rourke, a former Congressman from El Paso, which saw the brutality first-hand, said it was a step in the right direction but conceded that only corporations can’t stop gun violence. He stressed on the need on red-flag laws, universal background checks and the option of buying back each assault weapon.
Another Democratic contender Bernie Sanders also welcomed Walmart’s move but added that the gun violence crisis was still on.
‘NRA a domestic terrorist organization’
The NRA was condemned by the San Francisco Board of Supervisors on Tuesday as well. The body passed a resolution that declared the gun rights advocacy group as a “domestic terrorist organization” and its officials appealed to other cities, states, and even the federal government, to do the same.
District 2 Supervisor Catherine Stefani penned a damning statement that read: “the National Rifle Association spreads propaganda that misinforms and aims to deceive the public about the dangers of gun violence.”
Speaking to KTVU, Stefani said: “The NRA has it coming to them. And I will do everything I possibly can to call them out on what they are, which is a domestic terrorist organization.”
Referring to statistics on gun violence in the US, Stefani said there has been more than one mass shooting a day in the country in 2019.