Arkansas Business

Vice President Joe Biden is expected to unveil this week proposals to curb gun violence. The move follows weeks of meetings with everyone from the entertainment industry to the National Rifle Association.

Most everyone expects that a resurrection of the assault weapons ban, which Biden helped pass in Congress in the 1990s, to be back on the table, as well as limits on high-capacity clips. As the prospects of tighter gun control looms, customers have been busy putting all manner of weapons on back order.

Now comes U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-NY, seeking to put a brakes on all the stockpiling. He's writing to retailers including Wal-Mart Stores Inc. of Bentonville and outdoor sports supplier Gander Mountain and asking them to stop selling assault rifles:

Senator Chuck Schumer of New York has taken measures into his hand. According to the Daily News, the politician is busy writing letters to the CEOs of Walmart and six other corporations, all of which sell assault weapons. In this voluntary memorandum, Mr. Schumer is instructing these stores to cease and desist this action as a precautionary gesture before the gun control package is released in coming days.

A reinstated ban on assault weapons is one of the major expectations coming from Mr. Biden's office after the Newtown tragedy. The move by Mr. Schumer seeks to halt consumers from stocking up on assault weapons before Congress hears this package.

Wal-Mart, of course, has been cool to the idea of gun sales restrictions in the past. But after at first refusing a sit-down with Biden last week, the retailer relented met with the vice president on Thursday.