Walmart To Drop Ammo Sales Dramatically – Jim’s Thoughts [Opinion]

Opening up my brain and thinking again, really is there anything more dangerous?

Walmart drops the news yesterday, Tuesday, September 3, that they are going to stop selling certain short barrel rifle ammo and pistol ammunition when they run out... as if that will do anything to stem the tide of violence in our society. 

Hey, I get it, everybody wants to "DO SOMETHING" to make it better, to heal the wounds and stop it from happening again. It's one of the terrible realities of living in a free country of over 300 million people. Someone is always doing something bad.

This latest shooter in Midland/Odessa apparently went nuts after being fired from a job, but that doesn't mean he wasn't nuts before. I've heard he lived in a shack with no electricity, that he used to sit on his roof and shoot small woodland creatures. I heard he threatened a neighbor with a rifle recently and today I hear he failed a background check in 2014 attempting to purchase a firearm back then. So, the firearm he used was either obtained illegally or was purchased through a legal private sale. No matter how he got the weapon, it's what he did with it that is so hard for any rational thinking person to grasp. How does this happen and how do we stop it?

So many questions and the answers are not easy no matter which side of the Second Amendment argument you fall.

I am a pro-second amendment guy. I am a competitive pistol shooter, although I haven't been able to shoot much in the last few years due to other commitments. When I was competing though, I burned through some 9mm, approximately 3000 rounds a year, the people who are pros go through a lot more than that.

So Walmart decides after this latest incident that they no longer want to be a "part of the problem," that they would rather bow out of ammo sales other than what they consider to be legit hunting ammo and shotgun shells. OK, again I get the idea of wanting to "do something." The problem is what Walmart is doing is punishing the many because of the bad actions of a few. They are handing off their millions of dollars in ammo sales to other companies. In larger retail markets this will be a minor inconvenience, buyers will just drive down the street to next available retailer. Where this becomes pretty annoying is in areas where Walmart was the best place to buy it. Walmart is a giant retailer that can sell whatever it wants to, or not sell whatever it wants. There will be a ton of retailers willing to take up that slack. It may make a little more difficult for some, ultimately, for serious shooting enthusiasts, you can still order it online and have it delivered right to your door. It just takes better planning.

Walmart seemingly wants to extract themselves from any part of the equation, but that will not make the issue go away. If you managed to take away all ammo, those that want it bad enough will still find it. If you take away all guns, which is impossible by the way, insane people who want to do innocent folks harm will find a way to do it no matter what. Example: War on drugs.

The problem as I see it is in the heart. Human life used to be sacred, it doesn't seem to be anymore. From millions of abortions, prayer removed from schools, basic human values destroyed, fatherless homes, bullying seemingly out of control, video games that make it fun to take other peoples lives and yes, let's admit it, mind-altering drugs and I don't mean the illegal kind. I'm not saying any one of these is completely to blame but the combination seems to be having a terrible effect on some of today's youth. We seem to be producing people who don't care about other people.

Did you know in Chicago last weekend over 30 were shot and 7 died. Did you hear about that at all? Or did you just hear about the hurricane and Texas shootings? It should make you scratch your head a least a little bit why you don't hear about the shootings and deaths in Chicago every weekend. Don't their lives matter? Or does that sort of thing not fit the media's agenda?

So what do we do, I wish I had a good answer for that. One thing is "see something, say something." I'm sorry if it hurts someone's feelings but if something quacks like a duck, it might just be a duck! Tell somebody.

Teach your kids to care about someone other than themselves. Be a good example of that to them. Teach them service to others, whether it's through the church, youth organizations, Scouts, etc. Show them, make time and show them how to be a good person who cares about other people.

The other thing is, forgive me for preaching just a bit, but take it to God, lift the families of those lost up in prayer, they are hurting bad, and don't forget to ask for God's help in solving the problem reasonably, rationally. Just a side-note from me, Big Government is usually part of the problem and rarely part of the solution.

It has taken us a long time to reach this point and there are no quick fixes, legislative or otherwise. It's going to take a long time to right the ship. But trying to take law-abiding citizens guns or ammo away is going to ultimately make it all worse. How do I know? I refer you back to Chicago where you can't buy guns or ammo.

My thoughts, take 'em or leave 'em. Your thoughts are welcome too, but no name-calling, OK?

Luv ya, mean it!