On Wednesday, Dick’s Sporting Goods announced that they would no longer sell “assault-style rifles” after the recent Florida school shooting, which is now the second time that the sporting goods store has enacted a policy banning the sale of certain types of firearms after a mass shooting.
In a press release, Dick’s said that “thoughts and prayers are not enough,” a sentiment reiterated by CEO Edward Stack on CNN, where he said that thoughts and prayers “don’t do anything.”
Dick’s indicated that they made the decision because “we sold a shotgun to the Parkland shooter in November of 2017. It was not the gun, nor type of gun, he used in the shooting. But it could have been.”
Dick’s did acknowledge the fact that they “had already removed them from all DICK’S stores after the Sandy Hook massacre, but we will now remove them from sale at all 35 Field & Stream stores.”
The move by the sporting goods company comes as big box sporting goods retailers are struggling to stay afloat with many companies going out of business or filing for bankruptcy over the last several years, including Sports Authority, Golfsmith, Sport Chalet, and Eastern Outfitters.
Dick’s Sporting Goods has not been immune to the struggles being experienced by others in the industry as the value of their stock has been cut nearly in half over the last 18 months.