AUSTIN, Texas — In response to the new open-carry gun law in Texas, Wal-Mart is asking its superstore employees to verify the validity of gun licenses of anyone who comes into the business carrying a weapon.

Wal-Mart has directed any employee who sees someone carrying a handgun to contact the highest-ranking supervisor in the store, who would then check if the gun owner had a valid license to carry the gun in public, Wal-Mart spokesman Brian Nick said.

“Our policy in all of our stores across the country is to comply with the local, state and federal laws when it comes to firearms,” Nick said. “There wasn’t anything from our policy that changed. It was just because of the local laws on the books. With liquor licenses, if a business is aware of a firearm, it is incumbent for us to make sure it is licensed.”

The policy affects Wal-Mart superstores that sell alcohol. The decision to enforce compliance came down in light of a state code that has been a part of the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission’s rules for years. The code says that any business that sells alcohol will have its alcohol sales license revoked if it is determined that the business let an unlicensed gun owner bring a weapon into the store, commission spokesman Chris Porter said.

http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/national_world/2016/01/13/wal-mart-wants-texas-workers-to-verify-open-carry-gun-permits.html