Walmart And Dick's Will No Longer Sell Guns To People Under 21

Source: Alamy

The national debate over gun control continues.

Two of the country's leading gun sellers, Walmart and Dick’s Sporting Goods announced they will be taking steps to limit their sale of firearms.

In a statement released Wednesday on their website, Walmart announced the company decided to review its firearm sales policy "in light of recent events." The company confirms they will be update their processes "as quickly as possible to implement this change," also stating, "Our heritage as a company has always been in serving sportsmen and hunters, and we will continue to do so in a responsible way."

Walmart will also be removing items from their website resembling assault-style rifles, including nonlethal airsoft guns and toys.

In 2015, Walmart ended sales of modern sporting rifles, including the AR-15. The retail chain also does not sell handguns, outside of Alaska.

READ: America's Mass Shooting Epidemic Is Proof Of Our Embarrassingly Low Standards For Gun Ownership

"The hunt business is an important part of the business, no doubt about it. And we know there will be some backlash," Dick's CEO Edward Stack said on CNN's New Day.

Dick's Sporting Goods will also be raising the age of sale of all firearms to 21. In a statement released Wednesday, the company announced it would stop selling assault-style weapons like the one used in the Parkland, Florida, high school shooting last month. It also will be raising the age of sale of all firearms to 21.

The Parkland shooter, Nikolas Cruz, bought a gun at Dick's, but the company said it wasn't the AR-15-style rifle used in the school shooting. Stack said when they learned about that sale, "we had a pit in our stomach." "These kids talk about enough is enough," Stack said. "We concluded if these kids are brave enough to organize and do what they're doing, we should be brave enough to take this stand."

READ: Florida Superintendent Calls For A Smarter Safety System Following School Shooting

Experts say, since there are about 56,000 licensed firearm dealers nationwide, including a significant amount of single location mom-and-pop type stores, this initiative won't do much to slow down sales of assault-style rifles or other firearms.