A large furniture retailer with stores in Iowa, Nebraska and Missouri will soon allow shoppers and some employees to carry concealed weapons inside its stores. Bob Batt, executive vice president of Nebraska Furniture Mart, says they value safety for their customers and staff above all else and decided to change their stance on weapons.
Batt says, “We’ll implement a new policy of having highly-, professionally-trained people who we have already, but now, certain ones will be armed.” Batt says visitors who have a weapon on them and can show their permit to carry will be allowed into the store.
Batt says the change is not being enacted due to any recent events. “It’s not public sentiment, it’s what’s good for the customers and for the staff,” Batt says, “to keep them safe and let them go home every night.”
The policy change affects all of the Nebraska Furniture Mart locations, in Des Moines, Omaha and Kansas City. Also, a fourth store will be opening soon in Dallas, Texas.
“We want to be consistent among all of our operations on what happens, ” Batt says. “We’ve been evaluating this for months and now we’ve come out.” Signs outside the furniture stores that now say “No Weapons Allowed” will be removed.
“We want to make it a place that bad guys are not welcome,” Batt says. The policy change is expected to go into effect in June.