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Elected Officials Forcing Retailers Like Walmart and Target To Stop Selling Non-Essential Items

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In order to reduce the threat of the coronavirus, several cities and states throughout the country are requiring large retailers to stop selling non-essential items in their stores.

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In order to reduce the threat of the coronavirus, several cities and states throughout the country are requiring large retailers to stop selling non-essential items in their stores.

Officials for those governments are calling on larger retailers to restrict foot traffic to non-essential goods by shutting down aisles and closing down parts of the store.

These non-essential items include clothing, arts and crafts, beauty supplies, carpet and flooring, electronics like music and movies, books furniture, jewelry, sports equipment and toys.

These officials say they hope to lower the number of people crowding in a closed environment and to reduce the volume of traffic to slow the further spread of the coronavirus. Colorado, Massachusetts, Missouri, Indiana, Michigan and Vermont have already taken steps in this direction with possibly more states to follow their example.

In some of these states, local governments have even gone as far as ordering stores to and empty the areas with nonessential items or roping them off from customers.

Asked if this could happen in the Sunshine State, a legislative aid in Tallahassee told Florida Daily, “Possibly on a local level, but not on a state level.”

Melbourne City Councilman Paul Alfrey agreed with that, saying that kind of shutdown is “not happening here.”

Alfrey said if retailers want to limit what is being sold their stores, they have the right to do so but he would not support a local law forcing that decision on them.

In Jacksonville, where Mayor Lenny Curry has called for a stay at home order, so far the local government has not put limits on stores like Walmart or Target.

Jacksonville City Councilman Rory Diamond said the topic of limiting what retailers can sell has not come up before the council.

“If this issue were ever to come up on an agenda item, I would vote it down in a heartbeat,” Diamond told Florida Daily. “A move like this is too draconian to me.”

South Florida has been more open to mandating retailers like Walmart and Target from selling non-essential items.

Florida Radio Network commentator Ed Lynch said this topic has come from cities in South Florida, especially Boca Raton.

“It’s been a light topic but it has come up and I wouldn’t be surprised if some of the South Florida communities try to pass an ordinance forcing companies to stop selling non-essential items,” said Lynch.

Lynch said any effort to do this statewide would be ridiculous.

WBOB Talk Radio News Director Roger Henderson said the majority of callers to the First Coast station are against telling big-box retailers what they can and can not sell.

Henderson said that some callers mentioned that if cities were going to try this, they should do it in areas where more people tested positive for coronavirus such as in South Florida.

Government officials insist their mandates only apply to in-store activity, and people wanting non-essential items can still in and purchase these items and use delivery and curbside pickup options.

 

Reach Ed Dean at ed.dean@floridadaily.com.

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6 Comments

6 Comments

  1. Anonymous

    April 15, 2020, 12:55 am at 12:55 am

    No. Voting by mail

  2. Toni Painter

    April 15, 2020, 7:43 pm at 7:43 pm

    Books, electronics, and games ARE essential!!!! What would our kids do if they don’t have electronics-they would drive the adults that are taking care of them crazy!!!! Also kids grow out of shoes and clothes quickly and they need to be replaced!!! We can’t have our kids and ourselves becoming nudists!!!

  3. Richard Evans

    April 15, 2020, 8:47 pm at 8:47 pm

    Elected officials are non-essential!
    Our local Walmart already has a limit to how many people can be inside at a time, and when I shopped there last Saturday, the guy counting at the door said they had not hit their maximum capacity all day, so this isn’t even necessary. Few people are going to make the trip just for non-essential items, but should be allowed to buy them while they are there anyway for essential items, to reduce overall trips to the store.
    Finally, this is just a little too much government tyranny on top of what we already have so far.

  4. Anonymous

    April 16, 2020, 2:14 pm at 2:14 pm

    This is BS! Who are they to say what is essential to one person or another person. This is just another step of the government trying to control the people. People need to open their eyes and see what’s happening in our world today.

  5. Anonymous

    April 18, 2020, 9:58 pm at 9:58 pm

    It will happen wherever democrats and liberals have power. They cannot help themselves.

  6. Anon

    April 19, 2020, 6:42 pm at 6:42 pm

    One of the SWF Walmart stores ‘lifted ‘ the 1 per family limit for toilet paper, paper towels, etc. People were piling carts full. All this will do is cause shortages again.

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Ed Dean: Publisher

 

Ed Dean is a leading radio and news media personality including hosting the #1 statewide radio talk show in Florida. Contact Ed.Dean@FloridaDaily.com

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