HollyMatkinGeneseo, IL – Springfield Armory severed ties with Dick’s Sporting Goods on Thursday, and denounced the company’ s decision to hire a team of lobbyists to push for gun control.
“It is clear where Dick’s Sporting Goods and its subsidiary, Field & Stream, stand on the Second Amendment, and we want to be clear about our message in response,” Springfield Armory said in a release. “Their position runs counter to what we stand for as a company.”
Effective April 27, Dick’s hired three members of the Washington, DC-based Glover Park Group to lobby on the company’s behalf, according to lobbying registration documents.
Listed on the form was “FIR,” a lobbying issue code designated for firearms, guns, and ammunition. Just below the code, the form designated the group’s specific purpose as “lobbying related to gun control.”
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“This latest action follows Dick’s Sporting Goods’ decision to remove and destroy all modern sporting rifles (MSR) from their inventory,” Springfield Armory said in the release. “In addition, they have denied Second Amendment rights to Americans under the age of 21.”
“We at Springfield Armory believe that all law abiding American citizens of adult age are guaranteed this sacred right under our Constitution,” the company concluded.
The National Shooting Sports Foundation quickly followed suit, and unanimously voted to expel Dick’s from the trade association group on Friday, according to a press release.
The foundation, which represents more than 12,000 gun manufacturers and retailers, aims to “promote, protect and preserve hunting and the shooting sports,” according to the group’s website.
“The National Shooting Sports Foundation…the trade association for the firearms, ammunition, hunting and shooting sports industries, Board of Governors today unanimously voted to expel Dick’s Sporting Goods from membership for conduct detrimental to the best interests of the Foundation,” the press release read.