Dick's Sporting Goods to stop selling assault-style rifles in wake of Florida school shooting

Dick's Sporting Goods, one of the largest sports retailers in the US, will stop selling assault-style weapons and will require gun buyers to be at least 21 years old, the company's CEO Ed Stack announced Wednesday morning.

"We're staunch supporters of the second amendment, I'm a gun owner myself," Stack said on "Good Morning America." "We don't want to be a part of this story and we have eliminated these guns permanently."

In November Dick's sold a gun to Nikolas Cruz, who is accused of killing 17 people at a high school in Florida on February 14, though he used a different gun in the shooting, according to The New York Times.

"Following all of the rules and laws, we sold a gun to the Parkland shooter in November of 2017," Dick's said in a letter to customers posted on its Facebook page. "It was not the gun, nor type of gun, he used in the shooting. But it could have been."

Source

After a week that saw numerous companies sever ties with the NRA in the wake of the tragedy in Parkland we now have a company taking things to the next level. From now on Dick's Sporting Goods, one of the largest sports retailers in the US, will no longer sell assault-style weapons (their words), nor will they sell any firearm to someone under the age of 21. On top of that they will stop selling high capacity magazines.

They also implored government officials to make similar decisions at a state and national level. They also want universal background checks that are more thorough, a universal database that catalogs anyone banned from purchasing firearms, and an end to the private sale and gun show loophole.

It should be noted that this is not the first time Dick's has stopped selling "assault-style weapons." In the wake of Sandy Hook they also stopped carrying the weapons. While the main Dick's chain has maintained this policy, another company owned by them, Field & Stream, did not adhere to it. With this new announcement both Dick's and Field & Stream will stop selling these guns permanently.

Obviously this isn't going to be a popular move with a large part of Dick's clientele. I'm sure they will see their profits take a hit this year. Yet at the same time I can understand where they're coming from. This is a national corporation. They tend to be under a much more watchful eye when it comes to government oversight. As a result they're going to make damn sure that everything is correct when submitting information for a background check. And even they were able to sell this kid a gun. So clearly there is a breakdown in the system somewhere.

I can also understand the decision from a business perspective. While their profits are certainly going to take a hit from this decision I think it's probably much smaller than the one they would have taken if Cruz had used a gun he had purchased at Dick's. They realized how close they came to being the store that sold a mass murderer of children the weapon he used in his rampage. They figure it's only a matter of time before one of these monsters actually does use a weapon legally purchased at one of their stores and they want to get ahead of that and hopefully prevent it.

So while I'm sure we'll hear talk of boycotts in the coming days I think Dick's may have actually made the smarter move in the long run.

aww, they must be weenies about it

or it says something about the mindset of leaders of that bunch....kinda shrimpy wimpy So what kind of dicks is it?

There's plenty of "mom & pop" dealers around to take up the slack of the wussies at Dicks Sporting Goods.

a reply to: GBP/JPY

No "weenies" are the people that buy a firearm from Dick's Sporting Goods. Disclaimer: Buy from a reputable gun dealer.....not the Home Depot of Guns. Buy your firearm from those that sell only that.....firearms. Plenty of smaller gun shops around. They tend to know more, teach you more, and their not just out there for their own bottom line. Find one you like, you end up being treated like family......Go get that at Dick's.

a reply to: openyourmind1262yes

change their name to shrimpy wimpy weenies sporting goods

I dont see this move accomplishing anything.

Except causing a lot of mockery.

So they are going to stop selling black cored rifles.......

These chains of businesses caving to emotions instead of actual logic should alarm everyone.....

We no longer deal in facts, and can be swayed to make long term decisions of consequence solely based on media hype and kids who have turned political activists , who probably can't even name the areas of government, and are now trying to dictate the policies there in....

The US has lost its effing mind.......

a reply to: Xcalibur254

Who goes to Dicks?

Cabelas is where its at

Just curious. Can stores legally raise the age for buying a rifle?

originally posted by: ManBehindTheMask
The US has lost its effing mind.......

That happened long ago. Where have you been??

a reply to: Xcalibur254


LOL

They never sold Assault Rifles to begin with.

It's a semi-automatic rifle.

The Body is what scares you all, it looks like an M-16.



Why is it all the antigun # speak from ignorance?

originally posted by: bigfatfurrytexan
a reply to: Xcalibur254

Who goes to Dicks?

Cabelas is where its at

Cabela's is too pricey. Even though the huge fishing tanks are cool.

originally posted by: ManBehindTheMask
So they are going to stop selling black cored rifles.......

These chains of businesses caving to emotions instead of actual logic should alarm everyone.....

We no longer deal in facts, and can be swayed to make long term decisions of consequence solely based on media hype and kids who have turned political activists , who probably can't even name the areas of government, and are now trying to dictate the policies there in....

The US has lost its effing mind.......

I'm not a fan of this decision, but we do have to recognize that this is how the market/capitalism is supposed to work. Businesses change and mold themselves to fit demand and are easily affected by pressures from the buying public.

Whether or not the public's fears are legitimate are another matter altogether, but Dicks sees that the people are pissed and have to alter their practices in order to appeal to potential future spenders.

originally posted by: Lysergic
a reply to: Xcalibur254


LOL

They never sold Assault Rifles to begin with.

It's a semi-automatic rifle.

The Body is what scares you all, it looks like an M-16.

Atleast they aren't saying assault rifle. It's assault-style rifle now lol

a reply to: Xcalibur254

Do they still sell assault bows and arrows?

originally posted by: Ursushorribilis
Just curious. Can stores legally raise the age for buying a rifle?

I don’t see why not. As a private business, a policy like this is in house and would not count as government action.

a reply to: bigfatfurrytexan

I've purchased from Cabela's. Good people, still prefer the small shop.

a reply to: introvert

Except the majority of people pissed don't even buy weapons.

grab them by the

a reply to: Xcalibur254

I wonder how many of their guns have been used for illicit purposes? They never seemed to care until they made headlines.