• We are now running on a new, and hopefully much-improved, server. In addition we are also on new forum software. Any move entails a lot of technical details and I suspect we will encounter a few issues as the new server goes live. Please be patient with us. It will be worth it! :) Please help by posting all issues here.
  • The forum will be down for about an hour this weekend for maintenance. I apologize for the inconvenience.
  • If you are having trouble seeing the forum then you may need to clear your browser's DNS cache. Click here for instructions on how to do that
  • Please review the Forum Rules frequently as we are constantly trying to improve the forum for our members and visitors.

Kmart gun policy?

deepdiver

Campaign Veteran
Joined
Apr 2, 2007
Messages
5,820
Location
Southeast, Missouri, USA
imported post

I don't know about corporate policy, but the one here locally in my town in MO is not posted as a victim disarmament zone. Now that may not translate for OC as OC is verboten by local ordinance here, but I certainly CC into Kmart every time I go and have even gone in printing pretty badly and have never had anyone comment.

There are several stories in a quick Google search of individual Kmart stores posting following NDs in their stores (thank you irresponsible gun owners for ruining it for those of us who have and know how to use a holster), but I didn't note anything on corporate policy although I could have overlooked it in my quick look. Given the boycott and loss of sales they suffered when they joined the anti-gun crowd a few years ago and quit selling firearms and ammo I doubt they have a no-gun corporate policy. Looks like it is likely a store by store matter.
 

richarcm

Regular Member
Joined
Jul 1, 2008
Messages
1,182
Location
Richmond, VA
imported post

GLW wrote:
Does anyone know the Kmart corporate policy concerning guns, esp. the open carry of firearms by private citizens?

I've OC'ed into my local Kmart several times and hardly received a look. The only anti-gun quality to them that I am aware of is the fact that they ceased ammunition sale years back. Well and that they have pulled several toy guns from their shelves at the request of various law enforcement agencies.

Kmart for the most part sucks now. Last time I went there they seemed to have stopped selling a large percentage of their Craftsman tools. Unless I just couldn't find where they moved them....it is the tools that was the only reason I went there anymore....oh well....
 

Paragon

Regular Member
Joined
Oct 18, 2007
Messages
48
Location
, ,
imported post

My local Kmart is not posted either, and I've OCed there without issue. I haven't done it much, as I don't really frequent K-Mart.
 
C

ccloud43

Guest
imported post

I OC in K-mart here in Va Beach all the time and have never had a problem. I talked to the manager for over 5 minutes one time and he never said a word. I know he sawI was carrying because he looked at it several times.
 

xd.40

Regular Member
Joined
Apr 28, 2007
Messages
399
Location
Manassas, Virginia, USA
imported post

I've carried once in the Dale City, VA store, and no problem. It would help if you told us where you were (Just generally - I assume in Va, because you posted in the Va forum).
 

Dutch Uncle

Campaign Veteran
Joined
May 11, 2006
Messages
1,715
Location
Virginia, USA
imported post

Like another poster above, I rarely go to K Mart anymore. WallyWorld has a better selection and the "ambiance" is more upbeat. Anyway, when I did OC at the Victory Blvd. K Mart in Yorktown, I never had any problem. Its such a ghost town now, :uhoh: I should think they'd be happy to have ANY paying customers, armed or not.
 

Grapeshot

Legendary Warrior
Joined
May 21, 2006
Messages
35,317
Location
Valhalla
imported post

zoom6zoom wrote:
People still shop at Kmart?
Less and less these days but I have OC'd there (in and around Richmond) for many years without a single problem.

Yata hey
 

GLW

Regular Member
Joined
Nov 6, 2007
Messages
38
Location
Tidewater, Virginia, ,
imported post

Thanks for the feedback from everyone that was helpful to me. Sorry for not having the time to fill you in on the details. Here is what happened:

I was at the Kmart on Military highway last evening. It was a warm evening, so my jacket was off, and my revolver in OWB holster was clearly visible. I have OCed in the store on numerous occasions. I was in the store between 30 and 45 minutes, in various places in the store. There weren't many customers, and certainly employees must have seen me and noticed the handgun.

I went through the checkout line and paid for my purchases, then a security guard came up to me and said that a manager had asked that I not open-carry in the store. The security guard suggested that I carry concealed when I came into the store. (He didn't ask if I had a permit, though.) I then asked if I could speak to the store manager. He directed me to the loss-prevention manager on duty that evening. The loss-prevention manager invited me in to his office. He said that an employee complained about my handgun. I asked if this was a store policy or a corporate policy. At first he said that it was a store policy, because of the neighborhood in which the store is located, then he said that it was a corporate-wide policy. I asked if I could see the policy. He searched some books in his office, then came up with something in one of the books that addressed off-duty police officers. I said that I did not believe this applied to me, as I was not an off-duty police officer. He said that the first paragraph did apply to me, even though the rest of the document did not apply to me. I stated that the paragraph could not be divorced from its context, which only applied to off-duty police officers. (I'm pretty sure that this document pertained to security officers hired by Kmart, but I didn't get a chance to look at the book that closely.) I said that I was not trying to argue with him--and at that point he cut me off and said that I was arguing with him. The conversation ended soon after that, with me leaving.

I called the store to ask to speak to the store manager. The store manager was not there, as he is now the acting general manager for the region. I was able to track him down, and spoke with him. He was in agreement that there was no reason to prohibit open carry, but wanted to do a little investigation and call me back. Within the hour he had the loss-prevention manager of the Virginia Beach region call me back. This manager said that he did some investigation, and that there is no Kmart prohibition against open carry. According to the information he provided, they apparently are following state laws on the matter, with no further restrictions. He said that he would be notifying the store personnel concerning firearms, so that there should not be any problems in the future.

This was a very happy ending to the confrontation. I saw the security guard this evening at the store, and he said that the store had contacted the security company about the confrontation. I told the security guard that I did not have a problem with what he did, and give him my number in case his superiors wanted to speak with me about it. (Now that I think about it, I bet that the employee that noticed the gun and didn't like it was, in fact, the security guard. Not sure about that, though.)

So, now that the general manager for the entire region is aware of OC (and is o.k. with it), and the loss-prevention manager for the Virginia Beach reason is aware of OC (and is o.k. with it), I don't expect that we will have any problems OCing in the Tidewater area. It was nice to speak to some managers who understood the real issues and were supportive of the rights of their customers.

It was a good day. :)

Glenn
 

DocV

Regular Member
Joined
Mar 5, 2008
Messages
204
Location
Virginia Beach, ,
imported post

Good follow-up!

I've never had a problem at the one on Holland Road in VB, but that place has a whole "Night of the Living Dead" vibe going on, so no one may have noticed.

DocV
 

richarcm

Regular Member
Joined
Jul 1, 2008
Messages
1,182
Location
Richmond, VA
imported post

Doug Huffman wrote:
That's a pretty fine blade you got there, that can dissect K-Mart from Wal-Mart from Sam's Mart. They're big-box stores that your neighbor doesn't own. No more mom-and-pops.
Thats because the mom and pop's, at one time in their past, decided to grow and expand to become what are now Walmart, Kmart, Target, etc. Most mom and pop's have goals of becoming something larger than just a mom and pop. Regardless of what anyone says everyone wants to make more money than they are making now and there usually is not a specific limit. But this may all change as capitalism dies a slow miserable death....we may have ABC style drug stores in the future....who knows...
 

GWRedDragon

Regular Member
Joined
Dec 10, 2008
Messages
252
Location
Arlington, Virginia, USA
imported post

These stores only exist because people believe they provide a valuable service. This is true of any business. This is also why they allow things like OC...they know that if they drive off customers they won't make it.
 
Top