Supermarket retailer Kroger announced Friday plans to remove print magazines featuring assault rifles from all its stores.
According to Kroger spokeswoman Kristal Howard, the company recently made the change after assessing its “customer preferences.”
“We regularly review the company’s assortment of periodicals and make merchandising decisions based on customer preferences,” Howard said.
The company also claimed there was a “softening consumer demand” for firearms-related magazines.
USA Today reports the new policy is already being implemented in stores across the country.
“Kroger didn’t name specific titles, but periodicals that have featured assault weapons include: Guns & Ammo, Tactical Life and Recoil,” the report said.
The annoucement follows Kroger’s recent decision to raise the minimum age for purchasing certain firearms at its Fred Meyer stores from 18 to 21.
Kroger currently runs 2,793 supermarkets nationwide. The company did not explain how it would screen magazines for assault rifles or whether magazines featuring other firearms such as shotguns would be included.
Numerous other retailers have made similar changes in recent weeks as well.
While Walmart and L.L. Bean announced they would no longer sell firearms to anyone under the age of 21, Dick’s Sporting Goods said it would stop selling so called “assault-style rifles” altogether.
The policy changes were made in the wake of a school shooting in Parkland, Florida, that left 17 dead and 14 wounded.
The shooting has lead gun control advocates to initiate walkouts at schools across the country.
One high school student in Ohio who opted to remain neutral and stay in class during the walkout was suspended for refusing to join, stirring concerns among parents that participation in the alleged grassroots movement has become compulsory.
Anti-gun politicians who also took part in the walkouts were criticized on social media for what many viewed as hypocrisy.
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and Socialist Bernie Sanders were both seen accompanied by armed guards while attending anti-gun events.
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