Dicks Sporting Goods not selling guns? No big deal, but social activism is easy the other stuff too hard for corporate America.

via NPR

Dick's Sporting Goods, one of the largest sports retailers in the U.S., has announced it is immediately ending its sales of military-style semi-automatic rifles and is requiring all customers to be older than 21 to buy a firearm at its stores.

Additionally, the company no longer will sell high-capacity magazines.

CEO Ed Stack announced the decision on ABC's Good Morning America on Wednesday, the same day that survivors of the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School are returning to class. Stack said the 19-year-old gunman allegedly behind that massacre, which claimed 17 lives and wounded many more in Parkland, Fla., had purchased a firearm from the retailer last November.

While that the weapon — a shotgun — was not used in the shooting, the CEO said the revelation deeply affected Stack and his colleagues at Dick's.

"We did everything by the book. We did everything that the law required, and still he was able to buy a gun," Stack said. "When we looked at that, we said the systems that are in place across the board just aren't effective enough to keep us from selling a gun like that.

"And so we've decided we're not going to sell the assault-type rifles any longer."

Story here.

A few things.  

1.  This is a Hail Mary pass by Dicks!  They have been in serious trouble and this is just an easy way to get a few brownie points from the liberals.  Don't believe me?  Check out the following links...

https://www.cnbc.com/2017/08/15/dicks-sporting-goods-shares-crater-as-company-cuts-2017-forecast.html

https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2017/05/16/dicks-sporting-goods/101741328/

https://consumerist.com/2017/03/08/dicks-sporting-goods-predicts-more-trouble-in-industry-will-focus-on-house-brands/

Long story short?  Dicks has been on the verge.  Its business model ain't working.

2.  I don't know of one person that buys weapons at big box sporting goods stores.  Mags either.  Ammo either.  Them bailing on this market is just common sense.  No one shops at their stores for the product in question.

3.  It's easy for corporations to chime in on the "issue" of the day.  Its the other stuff that is hard.  They take what they believe is a popular stance on guns and that takes the heat off worker pay, import of goods that can be made in America etc...It's vile but it's true.  This is just giving them a fig leaf to hide behind.

In summation?

Dicks ain't fooling me.  I wouldn't be surprised if the entire enterprise isn't closed or sold by the end of the year.  This is a last gasp of a failing business.