Dick’s Sporting Goods Change Their Gun Sale Policy And Walmart Follow Suit

Classes resume yesterday (February 28) at Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland Florida as the students, faculty, and community recover from the deadly shooting massacre when a gunman opened fire with a AR-15 semi-automatic rifle killing 17 people and wounded 14 others.

While lawmakers are still having debates on how to handle assault rifles two major retailers are making changes effective immediately.  ABC 13 reports that Dick’s Sporting Goods will no longer sell assault-style rifles and high capacity magazines.  The announcement was made through their CEO Ed Stack will also not sell a firearm to children under the age of 21.

During an interview on Good Morning America Mr. Stack said:

We looked at what happened down in Parkland and we were so disturbed and saddened by what happened, we felt we needed to do something.  So, we've decided not to sell these assault weapons any longer in any of our stores.

Walmart is also following the lead of Dick’s and announced the legal age for purchasing firearms and ammunition from their stores will be 21 years old or older.  Walmart released a statement on their decision:

We have a process to monitor our eCommerce marketplace and ensure our policies are applied. We take seriously our obligation to be a responsible seller of firearms and go beyond Federal law by requiring customers to pass a background check before purchasing any firearm. The law would allow the sale of a firearm if no response to a background check request has been received within three business days, but our policy prohibits the sale until an approval is given. We are also removing items from our website resembling assault-style rifles, including nonlethal airsoft guns and toys. Our heritage as a company has always been in serving sportsmen and hunters, and we will continue to do so in a responsible way.