President Donald Trump's administration announced this week it would ban the sale of flavored electronic smoking devices and cartridges in the hopes of curbing youth vaping.
All non-tobacco flavorings will be banned, including menthol.
Supporters say it's a right move to help keep young people from taking up the habit, especially since we don't yet know all the health dangers of vaping.
But some say it's not the government's place to restrict adult choices in this manner. They claim the whole ban reeks of the "nanny state."
We want to know what you think. Do you support the administration's decision to ban vape flavorings? Or do you think it's wrong for the government to do so?
Send your response (50 words maximum) to [email protected] by Wednesday, Sept. 18. You can also mail your response to the Texarkana Gazette Friday Poll, at P.O. Box 621, Texarkana, TX 75504 or drop it off at our office, 101 E. Broad St, Texarkana, Ark. Be sure to include your name, address and phone number. We will print as many responses as we can in next Friday's paper.
Last Week: Walmart Policy?
Last week's question was about Walmart decision to stop selling certain kinds of ammunition and to ask patrons not to openly carry firearms in their stores. Do you support Walmart's decision or not? Will it make a difference in whether you choose to shop at the chain?
Decision to stop selling ammo for handguns and only selling hunting rifles is okay with me. They are doing this because a gunman entered one of their stores and shot as many people as he could in a few minutes, killing 7 individuals. - B.J., Texarkana, Texas
Cheers to Walmart and other retailers who are not intimidated by radical National Rifle Association thugs who worship the 2nd Amendment to a degree that the founding fathers never intended. - B.R., Ashdown, Ark.
Many will cite an imaginary political/liberal agenda, but this is driven by economics. Walmart did this to limit liability in their next shooting. "Walmart knew or should have known" is what they want to mitigate. Open carrying an AK47 in a huge store full of people is nuts. - W.B., Texarkana, Ark.
I think it's noteworthy that Walmart is taking a stand against gun violence. Hopefully this will encourage others to follow suit. We MUST take action and this is a start. Please note I am a conservative Republican, retired military who owns several firearms, not a liberal. - T.M., Atlanta, Texas
Walmart's, or anyone's decisions that would actually prevent some of these murders, is good. But the end result will be disastrous if the nation continues to submit to the agenda of the "leftists," which includes those whose hidden agenda is the total removal of all firearms from the citizens. The final outcome would be similar to other nations - only the lawless will have guns, and law-abiding citizens will have to rely on ungodly government authorities to protect us. - D.H.M., Texarkana, Ark.
I support Walmart's new policy. I'll feel safer there and wish more would do it. We live in a "see something, say something" era. If I see someone in a business with a handgun who doesn't have a badge visible, I have concerns. I'm fearful, think something bad will happen, enough to make a weapons call to 911. Better safe than sorry. - D.M.,Texarkana, Texas
From www.facebook.com/texarkanagazette
No. Don't shop there anyway.
Nope, won't shop there ever again
If they really cared about saving people's lives, they would stop selling alcohol, cigarettes and unhealthy food. They have jumped on a political bandwagon, and it's going to cost them customers. And by the way, not supporting open carry isn't going to stop a crazy person from coming into the store and killing. It will just stop anyone who could stop them from doing something about it.
Yeah, we welcome you to bring your guns, we just won't sell you the bullets to use them Hmmm. Sounds about right.
Walmart just put a target on every customer/employee in their stores.
If the hunters would go elsewhere to buy there goods it may make them think about that choice
If they cared about their customers so much why not hire some actual security to protect the thousands of people who go in and out of their doors every day. Tell me how this protects a single person? Let me know when they remove alcohol that might cause a death to drinking and driving that far out numbers gun deaths everywhere.
Always thought it was odd to go there for guns and ammo anyway. If I want a gun and some ammo, I'd want to go to a dealer, not to some person who just transferred to the department from stocking milk. People are silly. Walmart is just a large general store
I can still buy my beer there and go out drinking and driving.
Open carry all the way, so no, do not support it.
I'm sure it won't stop mass shootings but I'm encouraged that someone is trying to do something to help stop this madness. We are out of control.
I am glad that they did it.I have never been a fan of open carry. Walmart shouldn't be in the business of selling firearms of any kind.That's what gun stores are for. There also shouldn't be any constitutional carry. People should have to pay for a permit to carry a gun out amongst people twice a year or annually.
The bigger they are, the harder they fall! Kmart, Sears, etc. Wonder if government is going to bail them out on their downfall?
Bet they still are selling crazy meds the common denominator to mass shooters
Sure have been a lot of shooting inside Walmart stores - maybe we should shut them down?
Now the only ones with guns and ammo will be the mass shooters. This makes it even easier for them to kill even more people. Like shooting fish in a barrel.
People get offended by everything these days. So what if Walmart stopped selling a certain type of gun and ammunition. Get over it!
I do support their decision, Kroger's also.
For me no, I never went there for that, because I know of someone that is cheaper for that kind of stuff.
I do support their decision. I think everyone can agree that the status quo is not acceptable. I don't know if it will make a huge difference, but I admire them for at least trying something.
This is the problem I see is it your right or mine? I support the right that you may have a gun - a gun to provide security to your home. But what about my right to not have to be scared that a man carrying a gun into the store gets pissed and starts shooting, injuring me. Why does my right not count?
I do not care. Can we move on from this dead horse?
If Walmart doesn't have it I don't need it. I support.
No. As someone else said elsewhere, it feels akin to them suspending sales of auto aftermarket items in order to help prevent car accidents. Look up on Google Sam Walton's "The entrepreneur's creed" (inspired by a similar declaration by a Michigan politician), the one where he says "I will never cower before any master nor bend to any threat." I honestly doubt this would be happening were he still in charge, rather than his children.
I feel if all employees were armed there wouldn't be any shootings ! These shooters are cowards. They either beg not to be shot or they shoot themselves because they are afraid of jail!
As for me and mine we will be shopping elsewhere.
Sam Walton would flip in his grave!
Only time I open carry is when when I'm in the woods hunting. I do however support your right to open carry. I do not support Walmart's knee jerk reaction. I think it's a bad business decision. I will open carry there anyhow, when I come in from hunting if I need something from there.
What Walmart is doing is complete and utter nonsense. The man didn't get the weapon or ammunition from a Walmart. The weapon was illegally purchased from Romania and the ammunition from Russia. The majority of these tragedies are perpetrated by people using weapons they obtained illegally or by people (felons) who are illegally in possession of a weapon. I don't open carry or buy ammunition at Walmart anyway, so this doesn't affect me, but the idea that stopping the legal sale of ammunition will help is purely asinine.
Maybe they should ban people from wearing pajamas in the store too!
If anything, they should not be selling alcohol, if they really wanted to make a statement. But they won't because they sell more of that than bullets. If Walmart really cared about people dying they would start with what kills the most: alcohol. But they are being "politically correct" and caving in to the idiots that think getting guns off the streets will keep criminals from getting guns - just the way outlawing drugs did.
And sagging pants where their butts are hanging out the backside. Lord knows that could be dangerous to an elderly person's heart seeing that sight.
Bullets do not kill people, people kill people! Usually sick ones.
I am an ex-police officer and I support the right to protect one's self or the lives of others. That's a basic premise of use of deadly force. Even having said that, I think openly carrying a hand gun makes many uneasy unless the carrier is a known or is identified as a police officer. If Walmart is going to take this stand, they need to get lawful in their stores and post the 3006 placards on their doors. Whichever way they go won't make the public safer from a bad actor and trying to take everyone's weapons won't either.
I will no longer shop at Walmart.
Law abiding citizens that open carry are not the problem, guns are not the problem. It is people that committed these terrible crimes and purchased these weapons illegally. I feel safe when in line at a store when I see someone with a gun in a holster, I know they are trained and prepared to take care of business if/when needed.
It doesn't matter what I think as Walmart took that freedom away from all of us!
Walmart can make the decisions it wishes for its business. Shoppers can decide where they will shop. Sam Walton clearly supported gun and hunting culture. If the new generation of management is heading in another direction use the information as one will.
I do not agree with what Walmart has chosen to do! Sam Walton has rolled over in his grave to see what a liberal mess Walmart has become! By the way, did they ban cashiers too? You never see them anymore either!