Faced with a mounting social media campaign urging Gates-based grocer Wegmans to join retailers Kroger and Walmart in asking shoppers not to openly carry guns in any of its stores, the company said Thursday that "we prefer that customers not openly carry firearms into our stores."

The company issued the statement in a tweet sent around 2:30 p.m., saying, "There's nothing more important than the safety of our customers & employees. 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 into our stores."

Previously, company spokeswoman Jo Natale had declined to comment on the issue.

Pressure on the company started heating up late Tuesday when Shannon Watts, a Fairport native and founder of the gun control activist group Moms Demand Action, tweeted to the @Wegmans account, asking "When will you prohibit open carry inside your stores?"

Her query came on the heels of an announcement Tuesday by Ohio-based Kroger that it is "respectfully asking that customers no longer openly carry firearms into our stores, other than authorized law enforcement officers." Company spokesman Jessica Adelman said the organization is also "joining those encouraging our elected leaders to pass laws that will strengthen background checks and remove weapons from those who have been found to pose a risk for violence."

Also on Tuesday, retailer Walmart announced it would stop selling handgun ammunition and some calibers of short-barrel rifle ammunition, as well as ask that customers no longer openly carry guns in its Walmart or Sam's Club stores in states that allow open carry.

Walmart CEO Doug McMillon said the company's changes were prompted in part by recent mass shootings in El Paso, Texas, Dayton, Ohio, and Midland and Odessa, Texas.

In response, the National Rifle Association said it was "shameful to see Walmart succumb to the pressure of the anti-gun elites."

Following her initial tweet on Tuesday, Watts continued calling out Wegmans for not taking a stand on open carry and urged others to do the same.

Hundreds of people have tweeted to the @Wegmans account about the issue since, most supporting Watts' call for the company to prohibit open carry. Actress Julianne Moore picked up the topic on Wednesday, drawing even more attention to the matter.

Following the Wegmans announcement on Thursday, Watts thanked the company for changing its stance.

Wegmans has nearly 100 stores located in Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Virginia. According to the Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence:

New York generally prohibits people from openly carrying handguns in public spaces, but not long guns.

in public spaces, but not long guns. Massachusetts and New Jersey generally prohibit people from openly carrying long guns, but not handguns.

generally prohibit people from openly carrying long guns, but not handguns. Pennsylvania and Virginia restrict, but do not prohibit, the open carrying of long guns. Those two states generally allow open carry of a handgun without a permit.

All are among the 35 states that generally allow individuals to carry concealed weapons in public with a state-issued permit.

MCDERMOT@Gannett.com

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