I guess it was a business move on Dick’s part based on public perception. Suspending the sales of rifles in the community hardest hit is an attempt to show they’re sensitive to an unimaginable mourning process. I think we would all agree further and more stringent legislation on the purchasing of firearms is inevitable. Not being a businessman or a politician, I would imagine public relations played a big part in their decision. If legislation is passed forcing them to remove the guns from the shelves, those sales are lost anyway. The community will remember that Dick’s removed those weapons from the shelves before the law required them to and will continue to purchase other products for their outdoor and athletic needs. Conversely, if Dick’s did nothing they would appear insensitive and possibly would have alienated the surrounding community losing additional business.
What I find repulsive, the politicians using this tragedy for the furtherance of their political agenda. Using this to sway the uninformed about gun control and promoting the rhetoric that gun control could have prevented this horrifying tragedy. I can live with Dick’s decision, after all it is theirs to make.
