At the heart of the move for both Wal-mart and Dick's is the Bushmaster AR-15 Rifle. Not only was the AR-15 used in the Connecticut shooting but also in the Oregon Mall attack, The Aurora Colorado shooting, and was also used by the D.C. sniper.

Dick's Sporting Goods is pulling certain kinds of semi-automatic rifles off its shelves nationwide. The store said it's also removing all guns from its store nearest to Newtown, Connecticut. They said the change comes out of respect for the victims and families of last week's massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary. It's unclear how long the store will keep the suspension in place.

The Wall Street Journal reported on Monday that Wal-Mart, the largest seller of guns and ammunition in the country, removed a website listing for a semi-automatic assault rifle similar to the gun used in the massacre (the Bushmaster Patrolman’s Carbine M4A3 Rifle) first reported by The Nation.

While you couldn't actually purchase the gun (or any) online, the listing was removed even though you can still purchase the rifle in stores.

Gunnuts reports that online retailer Cheaper Than Dirt has suspended all sales of firearms. They say that a representative from Cheaper than Dirt responded with the following statement:

Cheaper Than Dirt! is suspending online sales of firearms effective immediately.

We are reviewing our policy internally, and will continue to be the leader in the outdoor industry with our full line of gear and accessories.

Michael Tenny, CEO

In addition to dropping online sales of firearms, CTD also recently increased prices on the popular PMag model of AR15 magazines from the normal 30 dollars to a whopping price of $59.97 for a single 30 round magazine.

Other facts of note:
There have been 16.8 million applications in 2012 to purchase firearms, up from 8.5 million in 2002 according to the FBI.

According to a 2009 DOJ report, only 1.1% of of the 108 million background checks processed through the federal system were denied between 1994 and 2009.

According to Targeting Guns, Dr. Gary Kleck, Criminologist, Florida State University, Aldine in 1997, guns prevented an estimated 2.5 million crimes a year or 6,849 every day.

The Bureau of Justice Statistics, BATF, in the latest National Crime Victimization Survey states that Every day 550 rapes, 1,100 murders, and 5,200 other violent crimes are prevented just by showing a gun. In less than 0.9% of these instances is the gun ever actually fired.

In the book Multiple Victim Public Shootings, Lott J, Landes W; ,University of Chicago shows that in states without “right to carry” laws since 1992, there have been 15 school shootings; however, in states that allow citizens to carry guns, there has been only one.

Lastly, according to the National Center on Child Abuse Prevention survey, four children die each day in the U.S. from parental neglect and abuse.

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