Dick's Sporting Goods says it plans to take away the hunting departments in 440 more of its stores across the country. It's a continuation of an initiative the company started in 2019 when that category of goods was taken out of 125 of its US stores.
Ed Stack, Chief Executive for Dick's Sporting Goods has been known to be an advocate for stronger gun control laws, especially after the shooting at Parkland, Florida's Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. As USA Today reports, Stack halted the sale of assault-style rifles at Dick's stores across the country. Seventeen children died in that Parkland high school shooting in Feb. 2018.
There has been backlash from some guns rights groups saying the move is unfair to law-abiding people who want to own guns. Threats for store boycotts were made.
The news of the removal of departments that sell guns in the hundreds of additional Dick's stores came when the Pittsburgh-based sporting goods store made the announcement in a quarterly earnings press release.
As CNBC reports, Dick's has been reaping the benefits of being one of the few remaining brick-and-mortar sporting goods stores, after its competitors Sport Chalet and Sports Authority went bankrupt.
As of Feb. 1, according to CNBC, Dick's had 726 U.S. locations. Stack said in a book he released in October, that in 2018 when the store pulled large-capacity magazines and rifles from stores, 65 employees "quit right away in protest, and more followed in later weeks.”
Dick's is working to fill areas where it used to sell guns with other hunting gear and additional products for team sports.
