There must be at least one good reason out there in the universe of common sense that would make it a good idea to carry a rifle slung over your shoulder into your local Target store. Some sort of zombie apocalypse where you—the lone gun-toting discount shopper in aisle seven—are humanity’s last hope for survival? Target apparently isn’t buying that as an imminent threat and, on Wednesday, said it would “respectfully request” that customers refrain bringing firearms into its some 1,700 stores, “even in communities where it is permitted by law.”
Target’s interim CEO released a statement on the company’s website about the decision. “This is a complicated issue, but it boils down to a simple belief: Bringing firearms to Target creates an environment that is at odds with the family-friendly shopping and work experience we strive to create,” the statement reads.
Here’s how the issue came to a head for the chain store via the Wall Street Journal:
Target’s move comes after Texas gun-rights groups posted photographs of their members carrying rifles through the aisles of stores near Dallas. In response, a second group, Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, a gun-control organization funded by former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, launched a campaign to pressure the retailer to forbid guns… Amid the controversy, the National Rifle Association briefly scolded the Texas gun-rights groups for carrying rifles in the stores, calling the practice “not neighborly.” The NRA later recanted and apologized for admonishing the group.
“The mothers group has claimed victories in getting the Chipotle, Starbucks, Sonic, Chili’s and Jack in the Box chains to alter their policies on guns in their outlets,” the Journal reports.
