Walmart to stop selling semi-automatic rifles

Washington, Aug 27: The semi-automatic rifles including the AR-15 will not be sold by Walmart any more. The decision by America's top retailer of guns has decided to stop selling semi-automatic rifles coincides with the number of shooting incidents that are taking place in the country.

The retailer however says that the two are not connected the decision to take the semi-automatic rifles off the shelf is due to sluggish demand.

The Wall Street Journal quoting Walmart spokesman, Kory Lundberg said that it about what the customers are buying and what they are not. The guns are currently sold in less than a third of the company's 4,500 US stores, the WSJ also reported.

AR-15 a preferred choice for killers

The AR-15 rifle was a popular choice for various factors. It is light weight, durable and can inflict maximum damage in minimum time. The AR-15 was originally built for the US armed forces, but today has become a popular choice for those wanting inflict mass damage.

The recent shooting at the Elementary School in Connecticut and also at the movie theatre in Colorado featured the AR-15 in which 26 and 12 persons were killed respectively.

These incidents had raised several questions about the easy availability of semi automatic rifles. Gun control advocates had said that such weapons are only a natural choice due to the impact it could cause.

Mass murderers are able to pick up such weapons with ease and go on to inflict unthinkable damage, the advocates of gun control in America had stated.

Walmart however maintains that the decision to take the semi-automatic rifles including the AR-15 off the shelf is not related to these incidents. The demand was sluggish and hence the decision was taken, Walmart also contends.

Scary numbers

Statistics would show that since the year 2013, there have been 864 mass shootings in the United States of America. Mass shootings at an average of 6.2 a week since 2013 have claimed the lives of 1125 people while leaving nearly 3,100 injured.

The White House has often been criticized as it has not been able to implement a gun law reform. Voices for Gun Control have become louder over the past couple of years. However following the on air shooting of the two journalists in Virginia yesterday, the White House has renewed its call for stricter gun control.

The Guardian reported this morning, Josh Earnest, Barack Obama's press secretary, reiterated prior statements on the epidemic of gun violence in America as the nation grappled with the latest shooting to shock the country.

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