Dick's Sporting Good's Draconian ID Requirements for Ammunition

Dick’s Sporting Good’s Draconian ID Requirements for Ammunition

Falls Township Rifle & Pistol Association Protests Dick’s Sporting Good’s Draconian ID Requirements for Ammunition

Falls Township Rifle & Pistol Association

Bucks County, PA --(AmmoLand.com)- Pennsylvania’s Falls Township Rifle & Pistol Association has begun a letter writing campaign to Dick’s Sporting Good’s stores protesting what it describes as their enforcement of draconian New Jersey anti-gun laws in Pennsylvania.

According to Andy Barniskis, Legislative Committee Chairman for Falls Township Rifle and Pistol Association in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, a number of club members reported Dick’s Sporting Goods stores in Pennsylvania demanding proof of state residency from customers purchasing handgun ammunition, and refusing ammunition sales to New Jersey residents.

Bucks County is located right across the Delaware River from New Jersey, and a number of club members are New Jersey residents who legally purchase handgun ammunition in Pennsylvania for use at the club’s Pennsylvania ranges.

In New Jersey, purchasers of handgun ammunition must show their state Firearms Owners Identification cards. In Pennsylvania, handgun ammunition buyers must only prove they are adults.

According to Barniskis, “We consider it an insult to gun owners for a retailer to enforce a foreign state’s anti-freedom legislation, when neither our state’s nor federal law requires any such thing.”

The following sample letter has been provided to club members and other regional gun owners, and club hopes the initiative to protest what appears to be Dick’s Sporting Goods corporate policy will spread.

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Edward W. Stack
Chairman & CEO
Dick’s Sporting Goods
300 Industry Drive RIDC
Park West Pittsburgh, PA 15275
Dear Mr. Stack:
It has come to my attention that Dick’s Sporting Goods stores in Eastern Pennsylvania have been enforcing New Jersey’s anti-gun laws on customers seeking to purchase handgun ammunition. Purchasers of handgun ammunition have been asked to prove their state of residence, and sales of handgun ammunition have reportedly been refused to New Jersey residents.
I regard such practices as an insult to both Pennsylvania and New Jersey residents.
Pennsylvania gun owners have fought too hard resisting draconian anti-gun laws like New Jersey’s to accept having them imposed by a retailer in Pennsylvania.
What’s more, New Jersey residents purchasing handgun ammunition in Pennsylvania, for use at gun clubs or other venues in Pennsylvania, are violating no law, and refusing to sell ammunition to them because of New Jersey’s anti-freedom laws implies suspicion of criminal intent on their part. It is insulting, and it is not the appropriate role for a retailer.
It has further been alleged that local management of Dick’s Sporting Goods stores in Pennsylvania have told ammunition customers inquiring about the policy that “It’s the law.” Dick’s management or staff members who make such statements are either deliberately lying, to shift the blame for a shameful corporate policy, or are unacceptably ignorant of Pennsylvania and federal law. It also has been alleged that enforcement of the policy has been tinged by allegations of racial profiling, which would imply civil rights violations.
Please advise me as to the corporate policy of Dick’s Sporting Goods regarding the enforcement of extra-legal anti- gun policies in its stores, and whether such practices will cease in the immediate future; or whether I, my family, and friends should seek other, more respectful retailers in Pennsylvania for our shooting and outdoor needs.
Sincerely,

Your Name & Address

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About:
Falls Township Rifle and Pistols Association. Founded in 1958, Falls Township Rifle and Pistol Association has been welcoming shooting enthusiasts in Lower Bucks County for more than 50 years. Originally located on the Falls Water Works, we now reside at 354 Newbold Road in Fairless Hills, PA just south of Morrisville. Visit: www.ftrpa.org