When Dick’s Sporting Goods announced it would cease all sales of “assault-style rifles” and “high-capacity magazines” (you know these items as AR-15s and standard-capacity magazines, respectively), and would no longer sell firearms to anyone under 21, reactions among sportsmen and Second Amendment advocates ranged from disappointment to derision. But for 20-year-old Griffin McCullar, a Dick’s employee, it was personal.
In response to the company’s announcement, McCullar submitted this resignation letter, which he also posted to Facebook:
“I am putting in my two weeks’ notice. I greatly apologize as my job here has been great; the staff is phenomenal and very easy to work with, the management is full of great people, and the pay is good. I do not have one bad thing to say about this store. However, I cannot be the face of these new gun policies in effect. I find them morally and constitutionally wrong. I refuse to be part of a corporation with these liberal policies. Again, I truly apologize for the inconvenience. Sincerely, the 20-year-old employee that is an avid hunter, who can no longer purchase firearms from the store in which he is a salesman at the gun counter.” The letter ended with the text of the Second Amendment and a photo of the Gadsden flag.
In a statement, Dick’s announced these changes represented its commitment to “step up and tell people our view, and hopefully bring people along into the conversation.” Of course, part of having a conversation is listening to opposing viewpoints. With nearly 90,000 shares as of this writing, we’d say McCullar made his voice heard loud and clear.
Dick's, besides facing discrimination lawsuits because of its arbitrary decision, to raise the age for rifle purchases, is also facing some bad publicity associated with its decision to destroy all the AR-15s and accessories that it stopped selling.
