I agree with El Rojo - I don't blame Walmart - it's the incredible amount of paperwork and the innumerable "gotchas" encountered when buying and selling guns in California. Some examples:
"Is that particular lock approved for that particular gun?" (it isn't enough that the lock be approved by the CA DOJ - it must be approved for the particular type of firearm).
"Did you get a right thumb print on the back of the DROS form?" (there's no particular space on the form to remind you - you just have to remember to get a print on the back).
"Did you release that firearm to the buyer after only ten days, rather than ten 24-hour periods?" (If someone buys a gun at 4:00 PM, you can't release it to them until after 4:00 PM on the 10th day - if you give it to them at, say, noon on the 10th day, you haven't complied with the waiting period requirement).
"You left the non-CA-approved cable lock that came with that rifle in the box when you delivered it to the customer." (It doesn't matter that the customer may have an approved safe or purchase an approved lock - you MUST remove any non-approved lock from the box and not offer them to customers in any way."
'What, you couldn't get the card reader attached to your computer to read the customer's driver's license."
This just scratches the surface of the laws and rules that gun dealers have to follow in CA. I'm not at all surprised that Walmart employees, who probably also have to know how to sell paint, car batteries, tropical fish, and who knows what else, have a tough time following CA gun laws to the letter. I wouldn't be surprised if they entirely give up on selling guns here.
We should blame the legislature and the governor, not Walmart.
Doug