Wal Mart is under the gun and I am surprised they are still in the business of selling firearms. I understand that they have quit selling firearms in a number of States. Wal Mart and other large retailers employee a lot of people. The more people you employee the more complex the human resource management becomes.
Even in the most friendly firearm state, the sales of firearms are highly regulated. For years law enforcement has been able to track firearms sold in legitimate channels. The sale is tracked from factory, wholesalers, to retail, and to the customer. If it goes out of bounds in the process the last recorded holder has questions answer.
A few years ago the anti-gun California Attorney General went after K-Mart and Wal Mart. His goal was to put them out of the firearms business and he succeeded. Without a doubt their business model failed them. When your are selling firearms you have to take a few extra steps in hiring employees. Both businesses have a lot of stores in California, but one X-felon selling firearms helped bring Wal Mart down. I am sure that at the time of higher he told them his was a convicted felon and could not work in the sporting goods department. LOL
Another allegation was that an employee was making sales to individuals by statues that were not authorized to purchase firearms. They made firearm sales to felons or underage customers.
Retail sales in most locations are highly regulated and inspected by local, state, and federal authorities. The paper trail is what kills you. The failure to properly document sales has put a number of gun shops out of businesses. The tax guy is also checking your business records.
K-Mart and Wal-Mart agreed to out of court settlements in California. Both of them agreed not to sell firearms in California for a number of years. Both also paid large civil penalties. It was reported that Wal-Mart paid three million dollars to the State. As a result I believe a number of other large retailers went out of the firearms business.
I was in a large Sporting Goods store recently and I noticed that they had a desk and employee setup to deal with the sale of a firearm. It appeared after a customer decided to buy the firearm the sales person turned him over to the person who specialized in processing the paper work.
It might be similar to the individual who processes the paper work at a car dealership, which goes to the Department of Motor Vehicles.
When you enter a business now days how many times do you think your picture has been taken by still, video, and digital cameras? Some shopping mails are using the latest technology to record customers and vehicles as soon as they turn into the parking lot. In some Malls the security there has a special camera that records all license numbers, and feeds the information into a databases. If a vehicle has been reported stolen, or involved in a crime it will pop-up, and police are dispatched. Malls have gone to this expense because they want their customers to feel safe, and with publicity the crooks will go to another malls lot.
Unlike Wal Mart, when you enter a small gun shop many times you will notice the owners or employee packing a firearm on their belt. I do not blame them, many years ago I would do business in a small shop, but it came to an end when the shop owner was murdered in his shop.
I will not say all, but many shops now have security cameras taking pictures of customers. Is your picture being store, and place in a sale folder? In this digital age transferring a picture from a security disk to paper is not difficult. The local gunshop I do business with keeps a log as required by law. Any of his employees have access to that information and it is no different with the gunshop that has ten-fifteen employees, over time a number of people have access to the records of sale.
When I leave the house and stop at the local Stop & Rob to buy a lotto ticket, I am being recorded. I next pull into the local service station, I am being recorded at the pumps, when I enter to pay, and when I return for my change. When I stop to visit a friend in the hospital I am taped in the parking lot, and am sure when I enter the lobby. I have noticed a couple of security cameras aimed at the parking lot of the strip mall my barber for thirty years is located and there are a number of cameras on top of a nearby bank. I doubt the little barbershop has a camera, but I am not sure.
I have had my picture and fingerprints taken by the State to obtain a drivers license, the same happen for employment, security checks, carry permit, and to coach a youth ball team. I have even peed in a bottle to maintain my employment. My kids had to pee in a bottle to get employed. Did you know that many police departments buy high school year book to use as a resource.
Frankly I do not blame Wal Mart, if some choose not to buy at Wal Mart that maybe the person Wal Mart is defending themselves from. If local authorities tell Wal Mart that they must comply with certain rules to do business in their city or state then Wal Mart has a choice. Retail has to deal with all kinds of regulations that failure to do so can put them out of business. Cigarettes, and liquor sales put a business at risk. There must be enough profit in the product to make it worth the risk, and pay the cost of selling the product.
After Wal Mart’s probation period was up in California many of us hoped that they would start selling firearms again. That has not been the case; the cost was more then the profit generated by the product.
