Dick’s Sporting Goods Inc, one of the US’s largest sports retailers,
is ending the sale of all assault weapons in its stores in the wake of
the recent massacre at a high school in Florida.In an interview with ABC News on Wednesday, Dick’s CEO Ed Stack said the company would no longer sell assault-style firearms or high-capacity magazines, and would impose a ban on sales of guns to those under age 21. “We’re taking these guns out of all of our stores permanently,” Stack said.
Pennsylvania-based Dick’s is one of the nation’s largest gun sellers and sells weapons through its Dick’s Sporting Goods and Field & Stream stores.
Stack said the decision was inspired in part by the revelation that the 19-year-old Parkland high school shooter purchased a weapon at a Dick’s store. The firearm – a shotgun – was not used in the shooting.
“We did everything by the book. We did everything that the law required, and still he was able to buy a gun. And when we looked at that, we said the systems that are in place across the board just aren’t effective enough to keep us from selling a gun like that,” Stack said. “And so we’ve decided we’re not going to sell the assault-type rifles any longer.”
Stack said there were not enough systematic protections to prevent gun sales to people who are potential threats, and urged Congress to act comprehensively not only on background checks but also on mental health and other possible solutions.
“The systems that are in place across the board just aren’t effective enough to keep us from selling someone a gun like that and so we’ve decided that we’re not gong to sell the assault-type rifles anymore,” Stack told ABC.
Stack said Dick’s was prepared for any potential backlash, but would not change its policies on gun sales.
“We’re staunch supporters of the Second Amendment. I’m a gun owner myself,” Stack said Wednesday. “We’ve just decided that based on what’s happened and with these guns, we don’t want to be part of this story.”
The move comes after a number of corporations including Chubb, Best Western, Delta and Hertz have ended discount deals with the National Rifle Association (NRA) amid a consumer backlash against their ties following the shooting.
Gun companies are also facing calls from investors to improve weapon safety and impose their own limits on gun purchases.