Is Wal-Mart Disarming America?

The global retailer announced that it is phasing out gun sales from a thousand store locations around the nation. They claim it's a result of "soft demand."

Wal-Mart Stores said on Friday it is phasing out sales of firearms in about a quarter of its U.S. stores, calling it a decision based on soft demand.

"As a retailer, we make business decisions every day on what products to offer our customers, based on customer demand," the company said in a statement.

"In order for each of our stores to be a 'store of the community' and offer merchandise relevant to that specific community ... we recently made a business decision to no longer offer firearms in approximately 1,000 of our locations."

They say they'll maintain sales in areas where demand is "sufficient," but they don't say how much is sufficient, nor do they name the affected stores or mention whether the decision affects gun supplies.

"In stores where there is sufficient demand, nothing will change," the retailer said. "We will continue to evaluate our merchandise selection store by store to make sure we remain relevant to the majority of our customers."

But, is it really that simple?

Gun sales and Wal-Mart were linked in a song co-written by Sheryl Crow in an album released last fall. When the retailer refused to carry the album, it drew criticism for censorship.

The offending lyrics -- "Watch out sister/Watch out brother/Watch our children as they kill each other/with a gun they bought at the Wal-Mart discount stores" -- were part of a song called "Love is a Good Thing."

Wal-Mart defended itself by calling the comments unfair and irresponsible, saying it strictly prohibits selling guns to minors.

The company has been expanding into urban areas and changing its image with a new push into organic foods and running ads in Vogue magazine.

Now, I'm no advocate of selling guns to kids and I have concerns of course about safety measures, etc. But, if Wal-Mart had been pushing firearms for low prices in areas where there had only been a few gun shops, chances are those gun shops are no longer there -- perfect way to get rid of 'undesirable' products in a community. The government wouldn't want an armed and outraged citizenry on its hands.

And naturally, as Wal-Mart moves into urban areas, it will not be offering guns to its customers at bargain prices. Urban dwellers exist for only one purpose -- to consume and to tax.

From Freedom to Fascism.