Walmart Is Often at the Center of the National Gun Debate
The world’s largest retailer isn’t always well-known for its positions on gun policy, but it has been at the forefront of the gun control debate for years.
It’s not easy to tell which companies are the most vocal about gun issues, but Walmart has been there, from when the Supreme Court decided the federal government cannot ban handguns (1996) to an incident in 2012 in which it was criticized for selling guns to an employee who had been fired for shoplifting.
Now, one Walmart employee and her family are battling an order from the National Park Service that they and the other gun owners be ordered to leave the country.
The family, and other gun advocates, say the government is targeting Walmart because of its high profile in the gun debate, and because of its close relationship with gun manufacturers.
How many people work for Walmart?
In 2013, Walmart says it employed 8.5 million people at more than 14,000 stores, including more than 1,800 in the U.S., with the majority in the U.S. and Canada.
Walmart, like other big companies, has teams of specialists who respond to crises involving firearms, such as incidents at schools and shopping centers.
Walmart employees are trained to handle gun-related disasters, such as a shooting in Colorado in 2012.
Walmart employees called to the scene of the 2012 Colorado shooting by police were able to quickly identify and help two victims.
Some Walmart employees said they had handled hundreds of other gun-related incidents.
The U.S. government is considering banning more guns, including AR-15 and AK-47 rifles.
A bill in the U.S. Senate would ban so-called assault-style weapons.
The Obama administration is considering a ban on so-called assault-style weapons, a term that could be
