HollyMatkinCoraopolis, PA – Dick’s Sporting Goods announced that they have begun destroying the supply of firearms and magazines that they pulled from their Field & Stream stores on Feb. 28.
The company’s previously-implemented policy change ended the sale of any “assault-style rifles, also referred to as modern sporting rifles,” according to a press release that announced the Feb. 28 decision.
These rifles had not been available through any Dick’s outlets since the Sandy Hook massacre in 2012, but were still being sold at the company’s 35 Field & Stream stores.
“We at DICK’S Sporting Goods are deeply disturbed and saddened by the tragic events in Parkland,” the company said at the time, referring to the Valentine’s Day high school shooting that left 17 people dead. “We support and respect the Second Amendment, and we recognize and appreciate that the vast majority of gun owners in this country are responsible, law-abiding citizens. But we have to help solve the problem that’s in front of us.”
Instead of returning the unsold merchandise to manufacturers, Dick’s has been destroying the weapons at their distribution centers, and began sending the parts to a salvage company to be recycled, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported.
“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,” a spokeswoman told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “We are destroying the firearms in accordance with federal guidelines and regulations.”
The company did not disclose how many weapons and accessories would be destroyed.
The earlier policy change also raised the age for weapon sales from 18 to 21 – an alteration that has already resulted in two age discrimination lawsuits against the company.
Oregon resident Tyler Watson, 20, and Michigan resident Tristin Fulton, 18, both filed separate suits in early March, after store employees refused to sell them firearms, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported.