Walmart and Dick's Sporting Goods Put New Restrictions on Gun Sales

Following the mass shooting at a Florida high school, one of the nation’s largest sporting goods stores announced Wednesday that it will enact tougher gun sale restrictions — including no longer selling assault-style rifles.
Saying “thoughts and prayers are not enough,” Dick’s Sporting Goods CEO Edward Stack announced several gun sale restrictions at its over 600 nationwide chains.
“We don’t want to be a part of this story any longer,” Stack told in an interview. “We were so disturbed and saddened by what happened down there and watching those kids be so brave to walk out of that school and start to organized for gun reform… if they can be that brave then we can be that brave too.”
The chain will stop selling assault-style rifles, end the sale of firearms to buyers under 21 (up from federal minimum age of 18), stop selling high-capacity magazines and continue to never sell controversial bump stocks, the company said.
Pennsylvania-based Dick’s is one of the nation’s largest gun sellers and sells weapons through its Dick’s Sporting Goods and Field & Stream stores.
Stack said the decision was inspired in part by the revelation that the 19-year-old Parkland high school shooter purchased a weapon at a Dick’s store. The firearm – a shotgun – was not used in the shooting.
“We did everything by the book. We did everything that the law required, and still he was able to buy a gun. And when we looked at that, we said the systems that are in place across the board just aren’t effective enough to keep us from selling a gun like that,” Stack said. “And so we’ve decided we’re not going to sell the assault-type rifles any longer.”
The decisions by Dick’s and Walmart come after a number of corporations including Chubb, Best Western, Delta and Hertz have cut ties with the National Rifle Association (NRA) amid a consumer backlash against their ties following the shooting.
> Shiuly Akter