Walmart Demands “Open-Gun” Carrying Customers To Show Permit

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Walmart Demands “Open-Gun” Carrying Customers To Show Permit

January 16th, 2016

Awake Goy

Managers of some Walmart stores are asking customers wearing visibly hostered firearms firearms to show their license to carry such fireaarms.

Managers of some Walmart stores are asking customers wearing visibly holstered firearms to show their license to carry such firearms.

Since January 1, 2016, when the open-carry law in Texas went into effect, managers of certain Walmart stores in the state have been asking to see the concealed handgun license (CHL) of customers who are openly carrying a handgun.

The new open-carry law means that for the first time since 1871, private citizens can carry a handgun in a holster outside their clothing. However, the open carrying of handguns is limited to those persons who have a CHL. There are currently some 826,000 such persons or 4.2% of the adult population in Texas. Moreover, the open-carry law does not allow even those with CHLs to openly carry handguns in certain places, such as amusement parks, bars, sporting events, schools, hospitals, nursing homes, correctional facilities, meetings of governmental entities (including federal buildings, court houses, polling locations, etc.) and businesses with 51% or more of their sales from alcoholic beverages. Holstered handguns may be carried into grocery stores, restaurants, public parks and public streets.

Businesses with less than 51% of their sales from alcoholic beverages sold for off-site consumption are required by the Alcoholic Beverage Commission to post a sign indicating that a CHL is required to openly carry a handgun into the establishment. To make sure that customers who are openly carrying handguns are doing so legally, Walmart asks the gun-toting customers at stores that sell alcoholic beverages to show their CHLs.

The new handgun law allows private businesses to ban the open carrying of handguns in their facilities if they so choose. If a business opts to do this, the business is required to post a state-issued sign warning customers not to display firearms in the facility. Many small businesses have already posted the warning sign. Larger Texas businesses seem to be placed in an awkward or no win position in the matter. HEB Grocery chain banned open carry in their stores but now loom under the gun-rights advocates’ threat to take their business elsewhere. On the other hand, Kroger Grocery chain has not banned open carry but they face the prospect of being boycotted by gun-control advocates.

Starbucks and Target have requested customers who are not law-enforcement personnel to not bring firearms into the store, but haven’t posted the official signs prohibiting open carry. They draw criticism from gun-control advocates who say the strongest statement that can be made for customer safety is to post the signs.

Walmart, which also sells rifles and shotguns, is asking shoppers to show the gun permit only in Texas stores that sell alcohol. Nationwide, company policy is to follow local, state, and federal laws.