Democrats ratchet up pressure on Walmart to pull guns from their shelves after El Paso shooting

Democratic presidential candidates put pressure Friday on Walmart to stop selling firearms after a gun-toting killer massacred 22 people in the parking lot of an El Paso retail store.

Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren and Cory Booker joined Walmart workers in pushing the top retailer to pull guns from the shelves of its more than 5,300 stores countrywide.

After a speech in Clear Lake, Iowa, Marianne Williamson told DailyMail.com that she hopes Walmart would end the practice but doesn’t like using the word ‘should’ as a presidential candidate to dictate the behavior of private businesses.

‘I don’t know about the word “should.” Would it make me very happy? Yes,’ she said. 

Warren told the company to ‘do the right thing—stop selling guns’ in a string of tweets. 

‘Companies that sell guns have a responsibility to the safety of their communities. Walmart is one of the largest gun retailers in the world. The weapons they sell are killing their own customers and employees. No profit is worth those lives. Do the right thing—stop selling guns,’ she said.

Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren and Cory Booker backed up Walmart workers who called for the move

Democratic presidential candidates put pressure Friday on Walmart to stop selling firearms after a gun-toting killer massacred 22 people in the parking lot of an El Paso retail store

Walmart has said it won't halt gun sales at this time, but it ordered workers to pull depictions of violence, including hunting videos

Walmart has said it won’t halt gun sales at this time, but it ordered workers to pull depictions of violence, including hunting videos 

She pointed to CVS Pharmacy and said five years ago, it voluntarily stopped selling cigarettes and other tobacco products.

‘Sometimes, companies recognize that they have an obligation to the lives, health, and safety of their communities,’ she argued. ‘In 2014, for example, CVS voluntarily stopped selling tobacco products. Cigarette sales went down, and more smokers tried to quit. That’s progress.’

Booker endorsed an employee-led effort to get halt gun sales. But he suggested the proposed ban should last only until Congress passes new gun control legislation.

Booker endorsed an employee-led effort to get halt gun sales. But he suggested the proposed ban should last only until Congress passes new gun control legislation

Booker endorsed an employee-led effort to get halt gun sales. But he suggested the proposed ban should last only until Congress passes new gun control legislation

‘Thank you Walmart employees for demanding action. Walmart should use its power to stop selling guns in its stores until politicians and gun manufacturers get their act together and raise the standard for gun ownership in this country,’ he said.

The New Jersey senator did not specify what he believes the standard for gun ownership should be.  

Sanders said in a tweet that he agrees with Walmart workers calling for the company to pull guns from its shelves.

‘Walmart should respect the voices of its workers who are calling on the company to stop selling guns. I agree. This is exactly why I believe workers deserve representation on their board, so that their views are heeded,’ he said.

Sanders has been extremely critical of Walmart, calling on the company to pay hourly workers a higher wage. 

Williamson also brought up Walmart’s wages in her conversation with DailyMail.com at the Surf Ballroom.

She said, ‘I think one of the things this president – one of the problems this president is that he has spoken in places where the president should not weigh in.

‘I don’t think that presidents should weigh in on everything. And as a presidential candidate, I want to practice that same respect for those boundaries.’ 

Williamson said she ‘cannot imagine’ the company isn’t having private conversations ‘about what the righteous response to this tragedy is.’

‘But at this time. Wait. See what they say,’ she said.

She noted that her ‘problems with Walmart go beyond gun sales’ and believes the company should approve higher wages for its workers.

 

A spokesman for the company said earlier in the week that it had not changed its policy.

‘There’s been no change to our policy regarding firearms,’ said spokesman Randy Hargrove at the time. ‘Our focus has been on our associates and the entire El Paso community.’ 

, Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, also a 2020 presidential candidate declined to take a position. 'That's up to Walmart,' she told DailyMail.com before the fundraiser

, Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, also a 2020 presidential candidate declined to take a position. ‘That’s up to Walmart,’ she told DailyMail.com before the fundraiser 

The retailer directed its employees to remove depictions of violence from its stores on Friday, including graphic video games and videos promoting hunting season.

‘Remove from the salesfloor or turn off these items immediately,’ an internal memo said. 

Gun control has become an election-time litmus test for Democrats in the wake of El Paso – nearly every 2020 candidate is speaking at an Everytown for Gun Safety Action Fund for Saturday in Des Moines, Iowa. 

Walking from a rally in Clear Lake to the Iowa Democratic Party’s annual ‘Wing Ding,’ former Vice President Joe Biden refused to say whether Walmart should stop selling firearms.

He told DailyMail.com that he doesn’t have to answer every ‘extraneous’ question that he’s asked on the campaign trail.   

At the same event, Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, also a 2020 presidential candidate declined to take a position.

‘That’s up to Walmart,’ she told DailyMail.com before the fundraiser.

Read more at DailyMail.co.uk