Second Amendment Supporters Have SPOKEN

Second Amendment Supporters Have SPOKEN  BY TIM SCHMIDT - USCCA FOUNDER

You may recall that back in February 2018, Ed Stack of Dick's Sporting Goods announced that the company "would no longer sell rifles to anyone under the age of 21, even though such sales are perfectly legal under federal law." [The Federalist]  In a public letter published in ABC News, Stack made the company's position on the matter crystal clear:  "We will no longer sell assault-style rifles, also referred to as 'modern sporting rifles.' We 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. We will no longer sell firearms to anyone under 21 years of age. We will no longer sell high-capacity magazines. We never have and never will sell bump stocks that allow semi-automatic weapons to fire more rapidly."  In April 2018, the company continued its assault on the Second Amendment and our God-given, constitutionally protected right to keep and bear arms when, according to The Federalist, it took things one step further and "hired three Beltway lobbyists to lobby Congress for gun control."  In a Concealed Carry Report I penned on the topic, I urged you to take a stand for the Second Amendment by calling and writing your representatives and senators and telling them your rights "are not up for debate or compromise."  And though I would never tell you how to spend your hard-earned dollars, I did encourage you to consider fulfilling your sporting-goods needs somewhere besides Dick's.  Now, more than a year later, it appears that you and other responsibly armed Americans across the country have spoken.  Guns America reports that "in a weekend segment by CBS News titled 'How companies are reshaping the gun-control debate,' Stack admitted to destroying $5 million worth of semi-automatic rifles. Stack also acknowledged what many have suggested since the CEO began his anti-gun crusade: His company's bottom line has taken a massive hit. Stack told CBS' Lee Cowan that he expected to lose about $250 million when he decided to stop selling all firearms to anyone under the age of 21."  In reality, the company did indeed lose "about a quarter of a billion," according to Guns America, and "is [now] considering removing all guns and ammo from its stores nationwide."  These are staggering numbers, to be sure, but most interesting to me was Stack's admittance that removing, banning or destroying guns probably won't do much in terms of stopping mass murder.  As reported by CBS News, Stack said, "So many people say to me, you know, 'If we do what you want to do, it's not going to stop these mass shootings.' And my response is, 'You're probably right, it won't. But if we do these things and it saves one life, don't you think it's worth it?'"  As usual, Concealed Carry Magazine Senior Editor Ed Combs wrote a great response at the time of Stack's initial move that is even more fitting today. He gave me permission to reprint it here: STEP 1: Grandstand for points with the anti-gun sectors by announcing you'll no longer sell something basically every other retailer's been eating your lunch on for several years now. STEP 2: Watch doing so gain you nothing with the people who were screaming for you to take that action and lose you plenty with those who were hoping you'd hold your nerve. STEP 3: In doing so, basically write a Brownells marketing email for them. Never, EVER forget that when the big-hat-lady Anti-Saloon-League types screech that some manufacturer needs to stop producing flavored vodka or wine coolers or whatever, they're not furious at the thought of underagers maybe drinking flavored vodka or wine coolers ... they're furious because they can't pass Prohibition again, and they'll continue attacking on every front until they either die or win. Yielding anything to people who don't want you to exist in the first place gets you nothing, and it can easily cost you a lot. As it turns out, the losses can go both ways. I doubt that anti-gun types bought any more sporting goods from Dick's after Stack made these decisions, but it's certainly clear that those decisions cost him, his company and his shareholders a quarter of a billion dollars.  The way I see it, this is all the more reason to keep supporting those businesses that support gun rights. Our voices and our actions make a difference. With both pro-gun and anti-gun groups making some bold moves, we must continue to stand strong — together — for our inalienable right to purchase, possess and carry firearms for self-defense.  Take Care and Stay Safe, Tim Schmidt Publisher - Concealed Carry Report USCCA Founder