SACRAMENTO, CA —-(Ammoland.com)- Following an announcement by Dick’s Sporting Goods CEO Edward Stack, Wal-Mart announced that it, too, is taking steps to impose an age-based ban on firearm and ammunition sales, and removing items “resembling assault-style rifles, including nonlethal airsoft guns and toys” from their online ecommerce website. “Our heritage as a company has always been in serving sportsmen and hunters,”—not all law-abiding gun owners, competitors, and people purchasing common semi-automatic firearms and ammunition for self-defense—Wal-Mart said in its February 28 statement.
Following in Dick’s and Wal-Mart’s footsteps, food giant Kroger, which owns the Fred Meyer chain of general merchandise stores, today took additional steps to end sales of semi-automatic weapons and imposed a new ban on sales of all firearms and ammunition to law-abiding Americans under the age of 21.
“If these corporations are going to put themselves on the wrong side of a bitter culture war over our Constitution and Second Amendment rights, then law-abiding Americans are going to take their business elsewhere,” commented FPC Grassroots Director Richard Thomson. “Dick’s, Wal-Mart, and Kroger are alienating millions of their customers and going out of their way to take troubling political positions.”
But advocacy organization Firearms Policy Coalition, which opposes gun bans and age-based limits on purchases by legal adults, said that these companies and others considering similar policies should think twice. In some states, age-based discrimination in public retail establishments is illegal.
According to a 2016 National Conference of State Legislatures report, over one-third of states have public accommodation or civil rights laws that prohibit age-based discrimination. And even some local governments, like Broward County, Florida—where Sheriff Scott J. Israel and the FBI failed to protect the lives of innocent people in the horrific Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting—have broad antidiscrimination ordinances that prohibit age-based discrimination in businesses open to the public.
Even setting aside the Second Amendment concerns about age-based gun bans, FPC says, some states have constitutional provisions or statutes that protect law-abiding adults’ right to keep and bear arms, which might heighten the interest in any age discrimination litigation. “If these billionaire corporate bullies are illegally discriminating against people based on their age, then maybe some 19 or 20-year-old law-abiding gun owners should sue them,” FPC President Brandon Combs remarked. “Corporate virtue signaling might be a trendy way to get clicks, but it’s going to hurt their bottom lines. And if these corporations oppose our rights and values, they deserve to take losses. Gun owners are tired of being treated like second-class citizens.”
President Trump previously said that he supports a government ban on gun sales to legal adults under the age of 21. Gun owners who oppose gun control and support pro-gun legislation can send an urgent message to President Trump and Congress at www.2abattle.com.
About the Firearms Policy Coalition
Firearms Policy Coalition (www.firearmspolicy.org) is a 501(c)4 grassroots nonprofit organization. FPC’s mission is to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States, especially the fundamental, individual Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms.
If Wal-Mart, Fred Meyer, Dick’s and all the other store want to quit selling AR-type rifles that is up to them. I can still shop my local gun store and the likes of Lipsey’s, Davidson’s and others. All the stores are doing is losing business from patriots like those found in Ammoland. What pisses me off is Congress and a bunch of state legislatures passing or thinking of passing laws that restrict young hunters from buying shotgun, rifles other than AR-types and ammunition. Can you imagine being 20 years old and having to have your mother buy a couple of… Read more »
I heard today that Trump is backing down on some of his age restrictions and new gun laws. That takes place after he had a come to Jesus meeting with the NRA. Maybe I will continue to support them, after all.
I stopped by a local WalMart and informed the gun counter people that is the active duty and guard personnel couldn’t buy ammo and rifles, neither will this retired AF member.
They can tote gun to guard the freedom of a store to discriminate against them – wow!
Anyone halfway familiar with the history of our war to kick the British out of our country will know that it was quite common for young men to be part of their town’s local militia. They trained, practiced, drilled, worked on their marksmanship skills, reloading at speed, and then carried their own rifles and muskets into battle, often being hit and killed immediately or slowly dying of infections after their wounds. Men as young as fifteen were often in the militia, and went to battle with their Dads, uncles, big brothers, cousins, best friends.
Age is still applicable today. An 18 year old can enlist in the military. But an 18 year old cannot buy a beer and now cannot buy a rifle or shotgun or pistol at some of these retailers? Continuation of the Leftist/Liberal/Socialist/Democrat Party BS.
Buh-Bye…..
I always thought That Dicks was with the NRA and now I will boycott them for no good reason like they are doing to the NRA. It’s NOT THE GUNS and if you can’t understand that, then live with your BAD choice. I’m done with you.
I am deeply sorry for all the people that were injured, and for the families that lost loved ones in all the shootings that have taken place in these United States of America! However all the talk of removing guns from retail or wholesale stores, along with raising the age to purchase them is just making the people more vulnerable to criminals as well as, God Forbid, if we are ever attacked by a foreign entity, we will not be able to defend our families and/or property, or assist the military in defending this Great Country. That’s All I Have… Read more »
Use the courts to protect your rights. If you’re 18-20 and are denied a firearm due to your age then sue. The settlements paid by merchants will teach them not to play politics with your rights. Then use the money to shop elsewhere or offset your college tuition or trade school bills.
As for Dicks Sporting Goods ban on AR-15s, standard capacity mags, etc., lets see if they can build a successful business model around just kids seasonal sports.
Attorney’s are salivating … big pay day coming.
Right on if it is illegal in your state sue them. Otherwise shop elsewhere