LL Bean has raised the minimum age to buy a gun - and it's part of a trend that's sweeping the industry

Kate Taylor

Mar 2, 2018, 19:26 IST

LL Bean has raised the minimum age to buy a gun - and it's part of a trend that's sweeping the industry

Getty/Joe Raedle
L. L. Bean

L. L. Bean has followed Walmart and Dick's Sporting Goods' lead and raised its minimum age for gun sales to 21-years-old.
REI is halting sales of Vista Outdoor brands until the company reconsiders its firearm policies.
A wave of retailers have jumped into the national debate on gun-control policy this week.

Retailers are jumping on the bandwagon with new firearm sales policies.

On Thursday, L. L. Bean announced it had "reviewed our policy on firearm sales, and we will no longer be selling guns or ammunition to anyone under the age of 21."

L. L. Bean's flagship store in Freeport, Maine was the only store with a licence to sell firearms, according to CNN. However, L. L. Bean's new policy reveals a sea-change in customers' expectations of retailers that sell guns.

REUTERS/ Michelle McLoughlin

Joseph Barbarito holds a sign as he waits for protesters to deliver a petition to Walmart in Danbury, Connecticut January 15, 2013. The petition was signed by about 300,000 citizens nationwide urging Walmart, the nation's largest gun retailer, to halt sales of assault weapons and munitions nationwide.

On Wednesday, Dick's Sporting Goods announced that shoppers under the age of 21 would be banned from purchasing firearms, following the school shooting that killed 17 people in Parkland, Florida.

"Our thoughts and prayers are with all of the victims and their loved ones," Dick's wrote in a letter to customers on Wednesday.

"But thoughts and prayers are not enough," the letter continued. "We have to help solve the problem that's in front of us. Gun violence is an epidemic that's taking the lives of too many people, including the brightest hope for the future of America - our kids."

Walmart followed Dick's with a similar announcement on Wednesday, restricting customers from under the age of 21 from buying guns. On Thursday, Kroger announced it is also raising its minimum age for gun sales from 18 to 21.

Beyond raising the minimum age to buy firearms, Kroger and Dick's additionally announced they would no longer sell assault-rifles at the limited number of stores where the controversial firearm was offered.

The wave of policy changes is now touching companies that do not sell guns.

On Thursday, REI announced it would place a hold on brands including Giro, Bell, and CamelBak as parent company Vista Outdoor stays silent about plans for its firearms brand, Savage Arms. Savage Arms currently sells "modern sporting rifles."

Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Brandon Wexler shows a customer one of the weapons that she was picking up at the end of the three day waiting period at the K&W Gunworks store on the day that U.S. President Barack Obama in Washington, DC announced his executive action on guns on January 5, 2016 in Delray Beach, Florida.

"We believe that it is the job of companies that manufacture and sell guns and ammunition to work towards common sense solutions that prevent the type of violence that happened in Florida last month," REI said in a statement. "In the last few days, we've seen such action from companies like Dick's Sporting Goods and Walmart and we applaud their leadership."

Raising the minimum age to purchase firearms has emerged as a policy that President Donald Trump would consider to help reduce gun violence and deaths in the US.

"I'm going to give it a lot of consideration. People aren't bringing it up because they're afraid to bring it up. You can't buy a handgun at 18, 19, or 20. You could buy the weapon used in this horrible shooting at 18," Trump said in a meeting with lawmakers on Wednesday, referring to the Parkland, Florida shooting, according to ABC News. "You are going to decide - the people in this room pretty much - are going to decide. I would give very serious thought to it."

Trump noted that the NRA is opposed to raising the minimum age to buy firearms.

"The NRA is opposed to it and I'm a fan of the NRA," Trump said. "No bigger fan. I'm a big fan of the NRA ... They love our country but that doesn't mean we have to agree on everything."