Dick’s Sporting Goods is destroying all the unsold “assault-style rifles” and “high capacity” magazines which they pulled from shelves following the February 14 Parkland school shooting.
On February 28, 2018, Breitbart News reported Dick’s announcement that they would no longer sell “assault-style rifles” or “high capacity” magazines. Those items were subsequently pulled from displays and Fox News reports that Dick’s has decided to destroy them rather than return them to their respective manufacturers.
A spokesperson from Dick’s said, “We are in the process of destroying all firearms and accessories that are no longer for sale as a result of our February 28th policy change. We are destroying the firearms in accordance with federal guidelines and regulations.”
The February 28 announcement that Dick’s would no longer sell “assault-style rifles” marked the second time Dick’s had announced an end to such sales. On December 18, 2012—less than a week after the heinous Sandy Hook Elementary School attack—Breitbart News reported that Dick’s was suspending sales of “modern sporting rifles,” a moniker that encompassed AR-15s, AK-47s, and similar firearms. CNN reported that Dick’s removed the option to purchase “modern sporting rifles” from its website on the same day.
The destruction of the rifles Dick’s currently has on hand will take place at distribution centers. Thereafter, the materials that once comprised “assault-style rifles” will be “delivered to a salvage company to be recycled.”
AWR Hawkins is an award-winning Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News, the host of the Breitbart podcast Bullets with AWR Hawkins, and the writer/curator of Down Range with AWR Hawkins, a weekly newsletter focused on all things Second Amendment, also for Breitbart News. He is the political analyst for Armed American Radio. Follow him on Twitter: @AWRHawkins. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com. Sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange.