At some point in the next
week, I will buy something from Dick's Sporting Goods. I'm not sure what I'll
get... a new yoga mat, perhaps, or some new sneakers. I would hope anyone who
feels passionately about the need for gun control reform will do the same.
If you missed it, in my previous post I suggested that making changes to the gun culture in the United
States will be a long and arduous process, but we can bring about those changes, just as we changed the societal norm
of smoking a few decades ago. Instead of sweeping legislation (that I would
love to see but seems improbable since so many politicians are more concerned
with saving their seats instead of saving lives), we can turn the ship around
by means of small, incremental steps with the goal in mind of not overturning
The Sacred Second Amendment but rather limiting accessibility to mass-kill
weapons and accessories and doing more thorough background checks (just for
starters).
Last weekend, MetLife, a
company that offers life insurance and other financial products, was the first
to come forward and say, "We will no longer offer discounts to NRA
members." Company executives stated that this policy change was made
because "We value all our
customers" (emphasis mine). Aaaaand BOOM, just like that, within 24 hours,
a long list of companies followed, including major airlines, car rental
companies, software companies, and so on. When I travel to Missouri in June, I
will be reviewing that list of companies to find the airline and car rental
agency I will patronize as a way of supporting their courage to do something, however small.
This morning, the CEO of
Dick's Sporting Goods made an appearance on Good Morning America to announce
that the company will no longer sell assault style rifles or high capacity
magazines, nor will they sell a firearm to persons under the age of 21. Bravo.
And so to support the company's brave step (because, yep, they know it will--at least temporarily while some folks throw temper tantrums at not being able to
purchase all the pretty shiny destructive toys they want--reduce sales and
result in a decrease in stock value), I will be buying something—anything—from the
Dick's in Upland, California when I head out that way later this week.
Small steps... these are
small steps. But they are similar to decisions made by owners of chain and
independent restaurants a few decades ago that banned smoking inside the
restaurant. Everyone said those businesses would lose business. In fact, studies
have shown that restaurants and bars that have banned smoking (in some states,
you can still light up inside your local pub) have not seen any decrease in
revenue.
I imagine Dick's will see a
small blip in sales... maybe... but maybe good-hearted folks around the country
will do as I am doing, decide the kids need new sneakers this month or some
cleats for Little League coming up in the spring or a really nice hoodie from
The North Face or Field and Stream. Spread the word. Maybe we can make that
happen, and maybe Dick's will see, in its next quarter financial report, that
sales actually increased after this
critically important, potentially life-saving decision.
Wouldn't that be cool?
FYI: Dick's Sporting Goods stores in California have not been selling "Assault style Rifles" since January of 2016, when the ban on selling those and magazines holding more than 10 rounds went into effect state wide. And as is often the case, there is a loophole in the Assault style Rifle ban large enough to walk through. Should one want to spend the time and money of ordering the parts separately, one can have one of these guns custom made. I know this because someone near and dear to me recently did this. All the separate pieces were cheerfully assembled by the really nice guys at a gun store in Redlands with a quaint name: Evolution Sports. And now my favorite gun nut is the proud owner of one bad ass looking contraption known as the AR-15.
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