Several major chains asking customers not to openly bring in guns

CHICAGO - Several major retail chains are now asking customers not to openly carry guns in stores, even if local laws allow it.

CVS, Walgreens, Wegmans, Kroger, and Albertson's are all asking customers not to openly bring weapons into stores unless their are law enforcement.

"There's nothing more important than the safety of our customers and employees," said Wegmans on Twitter. "The sight of someone with a gun can be alarming, and we don't want anyone to feel that way at Wegmans. For this reason, we prefer that customers not openly carry firearms in our stores."

"We want our stores to feel safe & welcoming for all, so we respectfully ask customers to not openly carry firearms in our stores unless they are authorized law enforcement officers," Albertsons said on Twitter.

And CVS said on Twitter: "We join a growing chorus of businesses in requesting that our customers, other than authorized law enforcement personnel, do not bring firearms into our stores.

However, the fabric and hobby chain Joanns is not joining that chorus. On Twitter, a company spokesperson wrote that the company preferred that people not bring in guns, but "if a customer lawfully brings a gun in, and is not disrupting other customers or is not perceived as a threat, then we generally will allow it."