Walmart follows in Dick’s footsteps, raises gun-buying age to 21

Walmart, the world’s largest retailer, has decided to follow in Dick’s footsteps and adjust its firearms policy in the wake of the Florida school shooting.

The company will be removing items from their website “resembling assault-style rifles, including nonlethal airsoft guns and toys” — and raising the age restriction for purchase to 21.

“In light of recent events, we’ve taken an opportunity to review our policy on firearm sales,” Walmart said in a statement Tuesday night.

“We take seriously our obligation to be a responsible seller of firearms and go beyond Federal law by requiring customers to pass a background check before purchasing any firearm. The law would allow the sale of a firearm if no response to a background check request has been received within three business days, but our policy prohibits the sale until an approval is given.”

The retail giant added, “Going forward, we are raising the age restriction for purchase of firearms and ammunition to 21 years of age. We will update our processes as quickly as possible to implement this change … We are also removing items from our website resembling assault-style rifles, including nonlethal airsoft guns and toys. Our heritage as a company has always been in serving sportsmen and hunters, and we will continue to do so in a responsible way.”

The move comes just hours after Dick’s Sporting Goods announced that they would no longer sell assault-style rifles.