They Just Won't Learn

Dick’s Sporting Goods has lost (so far) $150 million dollars in one year by banning the sale of certain guns in their stores. At one time Dick’s was a major gun retailer, and the sale of guns drove the sale of other items, such as boots, jackets, and hats. When sales fell sharply after their first ban, they added even more. Now, they’re doing it, again. The CEO says he knew they’d lose some business, but the fact that two separate mass shooters bought their guns in his stores disturbed him. So he stopped selling certain guns. How he thought that would change anything, I don’t know. Potential mass shooters will just get their guns elsewhere, legal or illegal. And law-abiding gun owners will, also. The CEO says it was “worth it.” To whom? He’d better be in a very strong position when he goes to the next board meeting. He may just lose his job. It is very unusual for a mass shooter to buy his guns legally, anyway. The actions of this CEO will have not a bit of an effect on them. They will just cost his company a lot of money. They might even have to close some stores because of it, causing unemployment for their employees. (Bloomberg)