Springfield Armory will cease doing business with Dick's Sporting Goods and its outdoors subsidiary, Field & Stream Shops, for the retailer's decision to hire gun control lobbyists.
Springfield Armory, which is based in Geneso, Illinois, announced the decision on its Facebook page. The post had more than 10,000 likes and was shared more than 4,500 times as of late Thursday night.
Dick's Sporting Goods hired three lobbyists in Washington, D.C., to lobby Congress for gun control legislation, according to a report by The Federalist. From the report:
The lobbying records show Dick’s hired two Democrats and one Republican from Glover Park Group, a DC-based government affairs firm, for “[l]obbying related to gun control.” No other policy issues were listed in the disclosure form filed by the firm. The disclosure forms show Dick’s pro-gun control lobbying effort began official on April 27, 2018. The official registration form noting Dick’s retention of Glover to push for gun control was filed on Monday morning.
Springfield Armory posted the following on its Facebook page Thursday at about 5 p.m.:
GENESEO, IL, (05/03/18) – Springfield Armory is severing ties with Dick’s Sporting Goods and its subsidiary, Field & Stream, in response to their hiring a group for anti-Second Amendment lobbying.
This latest action follows Dick’s Sporting Goods’ decision to remove and destroy all modern sporting rifles (MSR) from their inventory. 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.
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. Their position runs counter to what we stand for as a company. At Springfield Armory, we believe in the rights and principles fought for and secured by American patriots and our founding forefathers, without question. We will not accept Dick’s Sporting Goods’ continued attempts to deny Second Amendment freedoms to our fellow Americans.
