iStock(NEW YORK) — Three major companies on Thursday joined a growing list of businesses asking customers not to openly carry firearms into their stores.
CVS, Walgreens and Wegmans Food Markets were the latest companies to make the request in the wake of numerous mass shootings in the U.S.
In CVS’s statement, the company said that they “support the efforts of individuals and groups working to prevent gun violence.”
Wegmans said “the sight of someone with a gun can be alarming, and we don’t want anyone to feel that way at Wegmans.”
Walgreens noted the company is “joining other retailers in asking our customers to no longer openly carry firearms into our stores other than authorized law enforcement officials.”
On Wednesday, Kroger asked its customers to stop openly carrying firearms in their stores.
The grocery store giant also said they encourage lawmakers to strengthen background checks and recognize “the growing chorus of Americans who are no longer comfortable with the status quo and who are advocating for concrete and common sense gun reforms.”
The news comes after multiple high-profile mass shootings in the country, including Gilroy, California; El Paso, Texas; Dayton, Ohio; and Odessa, Texas. However, the companies did not specifically cite the shootings as its reasoning.
Open carry laws vary state by state, with 31 states allowing people to openly carry handguns without any license or permit, according to the Giffords Law Center. In those states, in some cases, the gun must be unloaded.
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