PA James Congratulates Dick’s Sporting Goods Ending Sales of Assault-style Guns

Public Advocate James on Dick’s Sporting Goods Ending Sales of Assault Weapons

“There is simply no excuse for any retailer to sell military-grade weapons or high-capacity magazines to civilians. I have been leading the fight in New York City to divest all public money from gun and ammunition retailers like Dick’s and we will continue this public pressure until all weapons of death are removed from our store shelves. Dick’s Sporting Goods is taking a critical step to make all Americans safer and I implore other retailers to follow suit. Every individual and corporation in this country has a moral and ethical responsibility to take a hard look at the actions they can take to address this public health crisis.”

The Sig Sauer MCX (above) is gun used by the Orlando shooter in the Pulse nightclub mass shooting attack last year.

Public Advocate James has been a leader in the fight to take on gun manufacturers, retailers, and those who finance them. A trustee of the New York City Employee Retirement System (NYCERS), the largest pension system in New York City, she called on all five of the New York City’s pension boards to divest from gun retailers, including Dick’s Sporting Goods, on July 1, 2015. On July 28th, 2015, NYCERS overwhelmingly passed Public Advocate James’ resolution to begin the divestment process. In March 2016, she filed a complaint with the SEC about the gun manufacturer Sturm, Ruger and their failure to disclose the risk of their products. In December 2015, she filed a similar complaint with the SEC about the gun manufacturer Smith & Wesson. Earlier that month, she called on TD Bank – which recently loaned $300 million to Smith & Wesson and also has millions of dollars in contracts with New York City – to stop doing business with gun companies or New York City would stop doing business with TD Bank. In the aftermath of the Orlando massacre, she called on six banks that had recently loaned money to Sig Sauer – the maker of the gun used in the shooting – to terminate their financial backing of the company.