Kroger FB

Michael Bloomberg, Shannon Watts and their small band of anti-gun zealots have been making a big fuss about gun owners exercising their rights in businesses around the country. Most notably they’ve targeted Starbucks and Target, and bullied them into changing their policies on lawful gun carrying firearms owners. Recently they’ve set their sights on the Kroger chain of grocery stores. Kroger has made their firearms policy very clear. Their stores follow the local laws, when local laws allow residents to carry firearms Kroger allows their shoppers to carry firearms. A novel concept right?

But that’s not good enough for these so-called “accidental activists.” Remember, they’re funded by multi-billionaire Michael Bloomberg, and led by public relations guru Shannon Watts. They’ve struggled to change laws nationwide, so they’ve shifted their focus to picking on major companies, bullying them into banning firearms. In essence they’re working on creating defacto gun bans in the places Americans spend significant amounts of time.

In this case, Moms Demand Action has been trying to coerce Kroger into banning all firearms within their stores. They’ve been boycotting. They’ve been delivering petitions. They’ve been trying to pressure the grocery store chain online and in social media. Fortunately, it’s not working at all.

Instead of hurting the store’s bottom line, all those  boycotts and petitions and hollering on Facebook and Twitter have actually helped elevate the Kroger brand. You see, Kroger just posted a 21% increase in 3rd quarter profits compared to the same period last year. For reference, similar grocery stores around the country saw an increase in profits of just 5.6%. According to the SuperMarket News trade magazine, this is the 44th straight quarter Kroger has posted positive earnings. It seems this chain of grocery stores is flourishing despite the anti-gunners best attempts to pressure them meeting to their demands.

The message here is clear: Moms Demand Action talks a big talk, but when companies stand tall and hold to true to logical principles, it becomes obvious that all that talk is nothing more than a big show. We hope the next business these anti-gun activists targets takes a long hard look at this case and learns from Kroger’s example.


Iowa Firearms Coalition is an entirely volunteer, grassroots, 2nd Amendment advocacy group. Responsible for bringing uniformity to Iowa’s Concealed Weapons Permitting process, IFC’s members work to protect and enhance 2nd Amendment rights in Iowa. An affiliate of the National Rifle Association, the IFC actively seeks to foster and promote the shooting sports. Sign up for our email list for the latest on 2nd Amendment issues in Iowa. You can support our work by becoming a member, or making a donation.