By: Teresa Mull
The CEO of Dick’s Sporting Goods, a notoriously anti-gun company, is reportedly considering a bid for the presidency.
Politico reports:
Ed Stack, the CEO of Dick’s Sporting Goods and a longtime Republican donor, is testing the waters for a possible third-party presidential bid that could scramble the dynamics of the 2020 general election.
Various messages were presented to a focus group in southern Wisconsin this week centering on the billionaire businessman, along with possible three-way match-ups against Donald Trump and Joe Biden or Elizabeth Warren.
GPM reported in April 2018, Dick’s announced in February it would stop selling “assault-style” weapons like the one used during the shooting in Parkland, Florida. The company also raised its minimum age to purchase weapons to 21, sparking backlash.
Typically, a retailer may return unsold merchandise. But in this case, Dick’s decided to destroy the firearms at the company’s distribution centers and send some parts to a salvage company for recycling.
Following the 2012 shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, Dick’s pulled sporting rifles from its namesake stores nationwide. It later reintroduced the product when its specialty Field & Stream stores opened in 2013.
Dudley Brown, National Association for Gun Rights president, says Dick’s actions won’t affect the gun industry in the way the chain intends.
“Dick’s resolve to try to keep guns out of the hands of Second Amendment-loving, law-abiding citizens will prove to be as ineffective as it is absurd,” Brown said.
“If the pro-gun population of America was not properly outraged by Dick’s discriminatory policies before, they certainly will be now that the company is destroying beautifully crafted firearms and accessories. But hey, if Dick’s wants to pay for guns and not sell them, that means more money for the gun manufacturers, and a monetary loss – not to mention PR disaster – for Dick’s. Go for it.”
In October, GPM reported, Dick’s Sporting Goods has apparently made good on its promise to destroy so-called “assault rifles.”
Breitbart reports:
On April 17, 2018, Breitbart News reported that Dick’s was destroying its “assault-style rifle” inventory, rather than returning the firearms to their manufacturers. Fox News quoted a spokesperson from Dick’s saying, “We are in the process of destroying all firearms and accessories that are no longer for sale as a result of our February 28th policy change. We are destroying the firearms in accordance with federal guidelines and regulations.”
During his October 6, CBS News appearance, CEO Ed Stack said the company ended up destroying $5 million worth of “assault-style rifles.”
And in April of this year, GPM revealed, Dick’s Sporting Goods’ anti-gun campaign has made a big dent in the company’s profits.
NRA-ILA reports:
Dick’s CEO Edward Stack – with evident pressure from the media and anti-gun lobby – has embarked on an escalating series of policies to restrict the chain’s sale of guns, at one point a significant part of the company’s revenue stream.
…Stack went so far as to formally collaborate with the Michael Bloomberg-funded Everytown for Gun Safety and to sign a letter endorsing gun control bills pending on Capitol Hill. His company even retained corporate lobbyists to press Congress for additional gun control.
Now Bloomberg’s own media outlet, Bloomberg.com, is reporting that Dick’s itself estimates the price of its anti-gun advocacy at $150 million in lost sales in 2018, or almost 2% of the company’s annual revenue.
Dick’s is one of several large corporations that has moved to appease the liberal establishment by enacting anti-gun policies. Read Gunpowder Magazine’s list of businesses to boycott if you value your Second Amendment rights here and sign the citizens’ boycott to avoid these companies.
Teresa Mull is editor of Gunpowder Magazine.