Walgreens Thanks Gun Safety Advocate Shannon Watts, Announces No Open Carry Policy

Retail pharmacy giant Walgreens announced a new policy prohibiting the open carry of firearms in its stores, and took the extra step of publicly thanking gun reform activist and NRA nemesis Shannon Watts for her “advocacy on this important issue.”

On Thursday morning, Walgreens issued a short statement regarding open-carry of firearms that read, “We are joining other retailers in asking our customers to no longer openly carry firearms into our stores other than authorized law enforcement officials.”

The chain then went a step further by publicizing their statement in a tweet thanking Watts and her group Moms Demand Action “for your advocacy on this important issue.”

@MomsDemand @shannonrwatts thank you for your advocacy on this important issue. Please see the statement we posted this morning: https://t.co/c5FvidR0dr

— Walgreens News (@WalgreensNews) September 5, 2019

Watts responded within minutes by spreading the news to her hundreds of thousands of Twitter followers.

BREAKING: @Walgreens, the second-largest pharmacy chain in the United States, just changed its policy to prohibit open carry: “We’re joining other retailers in asking customers to no longer openly carry firearms into our stores other than authorized law enforcement officials.” https://t.co/C3mcc5aDLM

— Shannon Watts (@shannonrwatts) September 5, 2019

She followed up by praising the 13 retail chains that have taken this step, and urged CVS and Wegman’s to do the same.

Stores that have stood up for gun safety:
✅Walmart
✅Walgreens
✅Kroger
✅Whataburger
✅Sonic
✅Panera Bread
✅Chili’s
✅Starbucks
✅Target
✅Costco
✅Trader Joes
✅Chipotle
✅HEB

Stores we encourage to do the same:
❌@Wegmans
❌@CVSPharmacy

— Shannon Watts (@shannonrwatts) September 5, 2019

The Walgreens announcement comes just days after Walmart’s announcement that it, too, will no longer allow open-carry in their stores, and will no longer sell AR-15 and handgun ammunition.

Watts founded her group after the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School, and was a guest columnist for Mediaite in 2014.

[Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images]