Stephanie Wehner was excited to get engaged to Mitch Strobl. Like many couples, they wanted to celebrate their engagement by taking photos. Mitch had a love for guns, and they decided to incorporate that into their wedding photoshoot. Mitch was holding a 12-gauge Ruger Red Label shotgun in the photo. This was one of the couple’s favorite photos because it showed that the two shared a love for firearms.
The couple decided to take the photos to Walmart to get them developed. Unfortunately, the clerk refused to print the photos. Stephanie asked the clerk why she did not print the photos. The clerk stated that it was against Walmart’s policy to print those types of photos. She said that she did not want to glorify gang culture.
Stephanie was appalled that Walmart would associate someone with gang culture just because they decided to hold a gun. Mitch is an expert on gun safety. He stated that he takes a lot of pride in using guns safely. A representative for Walmart stated that it is not against the company’s policy to print photos with guns. He also stated that the store generates a lot of profit by selling things to gun owners.
“It depicts our love for each other, and I wanted to be able to display those at the reception,” Wehner said.
“She was very nice but very matter-of-fact like she was not going to budge or give me my photo.”
“To automatically be lumped into that category of a gang… that hits a little close to home for us because that isn’t our intent at all.”
“I did that in this picture; I made sure the action was open… that was a safe photograph.”
“We had a new associate who was misinformed. Her actions are not consistent with our policy.”
“Although the Texas Walmart clerk denied Wehner the image, a representative of Walmart claimed the company and that location did not have an anti-gun policy. The store makes money from gun lovers by selling them firearms and ammunition in certain locations. They would never want to dissuade customers from buying weapons at Walmart.”
“It depicts our love for each other, and I wanted to be able to display those at the reception,” Wehner said.
Because their wedding was scheduled for the weekend, Wehner decided to submit thirteen pictures online featuring her and her fiancé in various poses at various stages of intimacy. Among the thirteen photos that Wehner submitted online to her local Walmart was the one with Strobl holding his shotgun across his shoulder.
Strobl stated, “She came with the idea to take a creative picture where we include something that is important to us.”
