Dick’s Sporting Goods Faces Customer Outrage Over Gun Ban Posted in
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0 comments Dec 30, 2012
By Todd StarnesDick’s Sporting Goods customers are threatening a class-action lawsuit after the company allegedly refused to fill gun orders made weeks before the school shooting in Newtown, Conn.
FOLLOW TODD ON FACEBOOK FOR CULTURE WAR NEWS. CLICK HERE TO JOIN!Dick’s announced just before Christmas that it was suspended sales of rifles out of respect for the victims of the school shooting. But some customers allege the company is also refusing to honor sales made the day after Thanksgiving.
And thousands have joined a
Facebook page calling for a boycott of the company.
“What makes this situation even more frustrating is that I am a law enforcement officer and purchased this rifle specifically to use while on duty,” a gun owner told
Military Times. “My agency allows us to carry rifles, but cannot afford to issue one to every member.”
“It’s unacceptable,” customer Troy Blackall told
CBS 11 News in Dallas.Blackall and his wife paid for two Troy Carbines – but they only got one. Instead, he said the company sent him a refund and a gift card.
“The gun prices have doubled and tripled in price now. So it’s not like we can get our money back and buy the guns someplace else.”
He said he would sign on to a class action lawsuit “in a heartbeat.”
Dick’s Sporting Goods did not return calls seeking comment.
Russell Kellner and his wife only received one of the three semi-automatic rifles they bought.
“It ain’t a good deal when you don’t get it,” he said. “So I’m not happy at all about it.”
Instead, the Kellners received a $100 gift card and a Christmas Eve letter from Dick’s — telling them the company would not be fulfilling any more orders.
Kellner told CBS 11 News Dick’s should not have changed their policy until after filling orders.
“Do what you said,” he told the television station. “Do what you advertised. Make good on it.”
Customers aren’t the only ones upset over Dick’s decision.
The founder of gun manufacturer Troy Defense put his outrage in writing — on the company’s Facebook page.
Stephen Troy said he was “deeply dismayed and shocked to hear” about Dick’s “anti-gun” decision. The company had invested millions of dollars to provide their rifles to Dicks’s under an exclusive contract.
“DSG did not contact or inform Troy of this decision prior to notifying the public,” he wrote. “Nor was Troy informed by DSG that cancellation letters were being sent to customers.”
The website
Twitchy compiled a list of critics who posted their displeasure on Twitter — many calling for nationwide boycotts of the store.
Todd is the author of Dispatches From Bitter America – endorsed by Sarah Palin, Sean Hannity and Mark Levin. Click here to get your copy!