Bravo, Wal-Mart!
Back on January 21 I noted a letter to Guns Magazine claiming that Wal-Mart has a policy of not allowing guns in their stores. I submitted a question about this to Wal-Mart's customer feedback page on their web site and received no response. Well, the April issues of Guns Magazine and Guns & Ammo Handguns Magazine have letters that answer my question. Bravo, Wal-Mart! I quote from p. 27 of the April 2002 issue of Handguns Magazine:
HEADS UP
I'm writing in response to a letter that was submitted to your letters column entitled, "No Guns? No Thank You" that was in your February 2002 issue. In the letter this individual states that when he went to a Wal-Mart in Mt. Sterling, Kentucky, there was a sign that did not permit firearms concealed or otherwise in the building. When he asked the store manager about it, the manager said this was a Wal-Mart nationwide policy. Well I am a Sporting Goods Department Manager for Wal-Mart and I have not heard of this.
I called our home office and they said this was a false statement.
Our Firearms Procedure Manual states: "Many states have recently enacted legislation allowing individual to carry concealed handguns after a thorough application and permitting process. One aspect of the legislation (in some states) allows property owners to post notices restricting the carrying of concealed handguns. Understandably, we've been asked if we will post these notices. After much consideration, the Executive Committee decided to continue with our practice as it has been for many years--we will NOT post notices restricting the carrying of concealed handguns by the general public. This applies to Wal-Mart Stores, Wal-Mart Supercenters, SAM's Clubs and Bud's. However, in the state of Texas, posting restrictive notices is required wherever alcohol is sold. This would affect only Supercenters and SAM's Clubs and we will comply with the law in these instances."
It seems to me that the store manager at Mt. Sterling needs a call from his supervisor. Hopefully, the call I made to the home office will remedy this.
James L. Henry
Wal-Mart #1480
Winchester, IN
Star Tribune - Oscar-winning Warner Bros. animator Chuck Jones dead at 89 - eh, what's up doc? Chuck Jones is the Warner Brothers animator who drew Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Elmer Fudd, Porky Pig, Road Runner, Wile E. Coyote, and Pepe le Pew. [picks]
Wayne Madson at Cryptome - J'accuse - Encore: Bush's Death Squads - In the war on "terrorism", the c.i.a. apparently now has a license to kill anyone who gets in the way of u.s. oil interests. So who are the "terrorists" here? [grabbe]
Sandee Burbank at Alternatives Magazine - Dare to Tell Your Kids the Truth-Quandaries of a Thinking Parent - Ms. Burbank raised her kids with the truth about drugs, legal & illegal. [unknown]
If you believe what you hear and see in the media, the War on (Some) Drugs is designed to help protect the health and welfare of our citizens. One could conclude that the health threat posed by the few illegal drugs must be much worse than legal drugs, but I learned that nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, legal drugs cause far more deaths and health problems than illegal drugs. And the negative impact of prohibition itself, not the drugs prohibited, has been the origin of crime, violence and untold suffering for families across our nation.
Educating myself about the federal and state laws, I grew to believe that the laws about marijuana had less to do with protecting health, and more to do with power, control and money. How could I explain this to my children? In addition to my efforts through MAMA to educate about drug consumer safety, I now knew I must do what I could to change the law.