“Dick’s investor threatens NRA boycott over gun-sales restrictions,” a June 13 Washington Examiner Business report notes. “The top executive at Dick’s Sporting Goods is facing renewed pressure from a conservative shareholder to reverse a policy raising the minimum age for gun purchases to 21.”
“David Almasi, a vice president at the conservative National Center for Public Policy Research, confronted Dick’s Chief Executive Officer Ed Stack at Dick’s annual investor meeting,” the report explains. Citing the loss of sales and the costs of “alienating” gun owners, “Almasi said groups like the National Rifle Association could soon boycott the retailer.”
That’s because CEO Ed Stack’s decision to out-Bloomberg’s Michael Bloomberg did more than disenfranchise Americans old enough to serve in the military and to vote. It also went beyond discontinuing the sale of what citizen disarmament apparatchiks strategically smear as “assault-style weapons.”
Stack has actively become a “leader” for the citizen disarmament zealots, despite his preposterous claim that “We’re staunch supporters of the Second Amendment.” He didn’t hire three “gun control” lobbyists simply to help with internal business decisions.
Dick’s is going after guns in a big way, something it admitted in its February media statement, but which stories that emphasize new company policies have been downplaying. Among the new infringements Stack & Co. are pushing for, not just for Dick’s stores but for everyone in Everytown:
- Ban assault-style firearms
- Raise the minimum age to purchase firearms or ammunition to 21
- Ban high-capacity (standard) magazines and bump stocks
- Require universal background checks that include relevant mental health information and previous interactions with the law
- Ensure a complete universal database of those banned from buying firearms
- Close the private sale and gun show loophole that waives the necessity of background checks
For his part, Stack dismissed Almasi’s concerns and defiantly pledged to stay the course. In any case, as far as gun owners who understand the significance of the right to keep and bear arms are concerned, even if Dick’s did a 180, it would be too little too late.
As for NRA, just informing its members is probably a more effective strategy than outright calling for a boycott, which could backfire since most of Dick’s sales are in sporting goods other than firearms. Dick’s first quarter 2018 earnings reflect that reality, and Dick’s stock prices have yet to show Stack’s decision circling the business down the drain.
These things take time. And with the dominance of e-commerce forcing brick and mortar outlets to change their strategies or go extinct, it won’t take many customers doing business elsewhere to affect long-term profitability.
With the information out there, it’s now up to us to do the right thing. Gun owners who still do business with Dick’s—in any way, including for non-gun purchases—are giving aid and comfort to an enemy of the Second Amendment, and one that went out of its way to become so. Also guilty are any companies that still supply Dick’s with guns, ammunition, and accessories—a growing list of which no longer will.
If you have any gun-owning friends who still do business with Dick’s, don’t be afraid to let them know that their patronage is helping finance attacks against your rights. If they persist, you might want to question a friend would do that to you.
Do you still shop at Dick’s? How do you feel about manufacturers in the firearms industry who still sell to Dick’s? Share your answers in the comment section.
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I do not and will not support Dicks Sporting Foods for anything! If they can’t support the second amendment then I will not support them in anyway shape or form.
Chief Keith
Hell No !!! Anybody , stores , agencies , polyticians, so called governing bodies , countries, etc. Who do not respect God, Family, Guns & the 2nd Amendment are no fiends to me or mine. Those people would be considered traitors!
Will not step into another Dicks or Field & Stream ever again. Will do my business around town or drive the 100 or so miles it would take to get to the Bass Pro Shops in Harrisburg to purchase hunting & shooting gear !!!
We don’t shop at Dicks anymore..
We will never buy ANYTHING from Dick’s again. Any business that that threatens the second amendment or the NRA is boycotted by my family and friends.
I do not buy from any of them
I think firearms dealers do not need Dicks to sell their products. People that want their products can find them. I buy my products from small Mom and Pop shops. Gun manufacturers should not do business with a two face shop like Dicks. Support the business that supports you.
I stopped going to Dick`s, ( because they ARE )! Ounce they jumped on the Anti Gun Ban Wagon, My cash stopped. How stupid is it to not defend a nation against tyranny ! Please don`t shoot me I am unarmed.
I will not shop at a store that is political!
Nope No more Dicks for me, And I refuse to shop at Targets also.
I will not buy ANYTHING from DICK’s!
It has always been hard and a little weird to buy a gun at Dicks. I bought a Rugar 10-22 once, and the guy from sporting goods took us down front and sort of looked at us for a while. Didn’t know if I was getting the gun or not, finally did. Prices are high anyway.
ARs & AKs are exactly the sort of “Arms” the 2nd Amendment protects! It’s not “the right to keep and bear sporting equipment”!
Dick’s is headed in the same direction as Sports Authority, only faster. It’s a shame. When I first saw their stores, they had promise. I shop elsewhere these days.
I gave up Dick’s a long time ago.
I wont purchase anything from Dicks no matter what the savings since they started there anti gun rhetoric . I wont spend my money where it will be used against my beliefs . There are plenty of other places to buy camping and sport equipment . Death by a thousand cuts .
Its the free market – If Dick’s chooses to be out of the firearms business, those sales will go to some other retailer, if the investors disapprove of the management’s decision then can either force a change, out the current management, or divest themselves of their holding. I know some people will read this and think I support their position – this couldn’t be further from the truth. Fact is I am a libertarian and the idea of imposing my will on them would be contrary to my personal beliefs. Dick’s will not be the deciding factor in the gun control debate.
No way would I support Dicks or anyone else that is for gun control. Also I think the manufacturers should not sell to them either. Why sleep with the enemy there is no reason for it.