Among companies targeted by liberal activists in the wake of the Stoneman Douglas Valentine’s Day massacre has been Dick’s Sporting Goods, a store that also sells goods for more “outdoorsy” activities, including hunting.
The Left has targeted companies with any kind of partnership/sponsorship with the NRA, but Dick’s is a more direct target, given that they sell firearms as well. While those companies caving to the Left’s demands have seen a decline in their consumer favorability, Dick’s jumped ship and did the same.
“Based on what’s happened and looking at those kids and those parents, it moved us all unimaginably,” company Chairman and CEO Edward Stack said earlier this morning on Good Morning America. “To think about the loss and the grief that those kids and those parents had, we said, ‘We need to do something.'” Regarding so-called “assault weapons,” Stack (the son of the company’s founder) explained, “we’re taking these guns out of all of our stores permanently.”
Great news for gun control activists, but also old news.
The Washington Free Beacon’s Stephen Gutowski couldn’t help but do some sleuthing, and notice that the kind of guns Dick’s was removing from their stores had already been removed years ago.
Dick's is getting lots of publicity for this but they haven't sold these kind of guns in their main stores for over 6 years. https://t.co/rT7F8Mq34L
— Stephen Gutowski (@StephenGutowski) February 28, 2018
They had been selling them in a smaller chain they owned but not in the main stores. This is not as significant a move as they want people to believe.
— Stephen Gutowski (@StephenGutowski) February 28, 2018
The NRA’s Cam Edwards noticed the same:
Dicks stopped selling AR's five years ago. Their principles somehow allowed them to continue selling them in their Field & Stream-branded stores until now.
— Cam Edwards (@CamEdwards) February 28, 2018
They got lots of attention for this the last time they did it too. Then they immediately started selling ARs in their smaller chain without fanfare. Now they're getting lots of attention for reversing once again. https://t.co/jiX14b8Yhu
— Stephen Gutowski (@StephenGutowski) February 28, 2018
Though there’s a question that arises in all this: when’s the last time you saw someone buy a firearm at Dick’s Sporting Goods anyway?
Okay. So the shooter in Parkland bought his gun from Dick’s. Now I have heard of one person buying a gun from Dick’s and given that he’s the only one anyone has ever heard of, it is probably reason enough for them to stop selling.
— Erick Erickson (@EWErickson) February 28, 2018
The chain implemented some other changes too, including raising the age to purchase a firearm to 21, ceasing the sale of high-capacity magazines, and refusing to sell “bump stocks.”
This probably won’t impact Dick’s all too much – because few purchased firearms from the store in the first place. The bulk of their business is in selling to athletes, not hunters.
Still, even they must be well aware that mechanically speaking, the “assault” rifles they’re refusing to sell operate identically to the regular rifles they’ll continue selling.
Be sure to share this story with others now to show them the truth.
