Dick’s Seals Alienation from Gun Owners, Hires Gun Control Lobbyists

U.S.A. – -(Ammoland.com)- “Dick’s Sporting Goods, which announced in February it would no longer sell rifles to anyone under the age of 21, hired three Beltway lobbyists to lobby Congress for gun control,” The Federalist reported Wednesday. “The lobbying records show Dick’s hired two Democrats and one Republican from Glover Park Group, a DC-based government affairs firm, for ‘[l]obbying related to gun control.’”

“We’re staunch supporters of the 2nd Amendment. I’m a gun owner myself,” Dick’s CEO Edward Stack preposterously claimed shortly after Parkland. That's when the company announced it would discontinue selling what citizen disarmament apparatchiks strategically smear as “assault-style weapons” at its Field & Stream locations. Dick's had already thrown semiautomatic rifles with standard capacity magazines under the bus after Sandy Hook at their main locations.

To paraphrase Bill Clinton when he was lying, it depends upon what the meaning of the word “staunch” is.  If Stack were actually a supporter instead of a weasel-wording phony, he would realize – as even the Miller court did – that “the Second Amendment guarantees the right to keep and bear … ordinary military equipment … that … could contribute to the common defense.”

The thing that most reports I’ve seen on Dick’s have neglected to mention – and the thing that puts the lobbyist hire in context – is that the February “sell-out encompassed much more than just a “business decision.”  In their “media statement,” the company irrevocably aligned itself with the citizen disarmament lobby:

“At the same time, we implore our elected officials to enact common sense gun reform and pass the following regulations:

• Ban assault-style firearms
• Raise the minimum age to purchase firearms or ammunition to 21
• Ban high capacity 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”

They have chosen to become the full-blown enemy. If you know any gun owners who still shop there, do what you can to get them to stop. If they still do, they’re basically saying they care more about their business choices than your rights.

As do gun-makers who would rather have Dick’s business than yours.

Any manufacturer who continues to supply Dick’s with anything firearms-related is choosing to give them aid and comfort. We’ve seen the positive reception for companies denying sales and services to gun-grabbers. There’s no reason why others couldn’t enjoy the same kind of customer loyalty by telling Dick’s to go … uh … take their business elsewhere.

And there’s no reason why those committed to defending the right to keep and bear arms shouldn’t expect it of them.

UPDATE:

Springfield Armory has taken the lead, terminating their relationship with Dick's and deserves our acknowledgment and thanks.

About David Codrea:

David Codrea is the winner of multiple journalist awards for investigating/defending the RKBA and a long-time gun owner rights advocate who defiantly challenges the folly of citizen disarmament.

In addition to being a field editor/columnist at GUNS Magazine and associate editor for Oath Keepers, he blogs at “The War on Guns: Notes from the Resistance,” and posts on Twitter: @dcodrea and Facebook.