You hurt my Sharps feelings.
Posted on 01/08/2015 12:33:10 PM PST by Responsibility2nd
A Walmart employee near Richardson north of Dallas refused to print a photo of a man holding an over-and-under shotgun in one of his engagement photos that he and his fiancée had submitted to the store for printing, just days before their wedding.
Stephanie Wehner and her fiancé Mitch Strobl had submitted the photos to Walmart’s online photo lab for printing. In one of the photos Strobl was holding his prized 12-gauge Ruger Red Label over-and-under shotgun.
Wehner is a WFAA-TV employee in Dallas. The couple told their story to the TV station earlier this week. They are due to be wed later this weekend.
It was later learned though that the employee was misinformed and the superstore had no direct policy against firearms in photos they develop and print for customers.
"She was very nice, but very matter-of-fact, like she was not going to budge or give me my photo," Wehner told WFAA-TV.
The clerk told Wehner that the photo couldn't be released because the weapon would promote a "gang culture."
The 12-gauge Ruger though is a common hunting rifle and lists for just under $1,400 on the official Ruger website. Meanwhile Strobl happens to make his living writing manuals for hunting and outdoor recreation types, which would lend itself to spending time outside with a shotgun.
Walmart’s online photo center though does have a terms of use page that says that they do not print photos that include “expressions of abuse, offensive language and/or imagery, obscenity or pornography, including but not limited to: child abuse, child pornography, depictions of minors engaged in sexual conduct or explicitly sexual situations, or any other material that could give rise to any civil or criminal liability under applicable state or federal law, or violating any laws or regulations of any governing body.”
It further states that “unlawful, harmful, threatening, harassing, defamatory, obscene, vulgar, invasive of another's privacy, hateful or otherwise unsuitable as determined by WALMART.COM” would lead to an online account being revoked.
In the photo of Strobl with his shotgun, he and Wehner are show smiling and embracing in a rustic setting.
In a statement a Walmart spokesperson told WFAA-TV that the employee had been misinformed and that the store doesn’t have an antigun policy when it comes to photos.
The couple told WFAA-TV that they are currently looking to get their photos printed elsewhere. Somehow we think they won’t have a problem finding a place to accommodate them.
Walmart sells a variety of firearms, which advertises in stores and on Walmart.com
I am holding out for the "Assault style", "Semi-Automatic" one...
You know... the one with the "High Capacity" "Clips".
You hurt my Sharps feelings.
I read that it was a digital photo that they wanted printed.
Well, yours is much better looking.
“Problem is, it wasn’t their policy, it was an employee coming up with her own interpretation of policy.”
Did WalMart fire the employee?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.