Dick’s Sporting Goods will no longer sell assault-style rifles or high-capacity magazines in its stores, the CEO announced today.
Dick’s Chairman and CEO Edward Stack said on “Good Morning America” the chain will not sell any kind of gun to anyone under 21 years of age, regardless of local laws.
The announcement comes two weeks after a shooting at a Parkland, Florida, high school left 17 dead.
“When we saw what happened in Parkland, we were so disturbed and upset,” said Dick’s CEO Edward Stack.
Stack said the student activists from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School’s rallying cry, “Enough is enough,” got through to the company.
“We’re going to take a stand and step up and tell people our view and, hopefully, bring people along into the conversation,” he said.
Dick’s is among several corporations that are changing policies in the face of pressure from anti-gun activists around the country.
Several companies, including Hertz car rental, Delta Air Lines, MetLife insurance, Enterprise Rent-A-Car, have ended discount programs for National Rifle Association members.
Many gun-rights advocates have threatened to cut ties with companies that cut ties with the NRA. It is unclear what financial impact these threats will have on business overall for companies that are picking sides.
Dick’s has made changes like this before in the wake of the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School, but later began selling the same assault-style rifles again in its outdoor and hunting chain store, Field & Stream. Stack said the changes would be permanent this time.
Originally published by the Journal Inquirer.
Jackie Nappo 