Anti-Gun Movement Is Infecting an Outdoor Brand’s Other Products
- 6 years ago
Anti-Gun Movement Is Infecting an Outdoor Brand’s Other Products
REI and Mountain Equipment Co-op, two outdoor retail chains
that are also customer cooperatives, said Thursday they were suspending orders for popular items like Bell bicycle helmets and CamelBak water bottles from the company that owns the brands, Vista Outdoor, because Vista also makes assault-style rifles.
In its statement, REI said it believed it was the job of companies
that manufacture and sell guns and ammunition to “work towards common sense solutions that prevent the type of violence that happened in Florida last month.” REI suggested it was disappointed with Vista for not coming forward with an approach to finding those solutions.
The wave of responses started with a number of companies cutting ties late last week to the National Rifle Association,
and gained momentum when Dick’s Sporting Goods, Walmart and Kroger announced changes to their gun policies, including halting the sale of firearms to customers under the age of 21.
The move marks an escalation of the stances businesses have taken in the past week in the controversial gun
debate since the school shooting in Parkland, Fla., last month that killed 17 students and staff members.
REI and Mountain Equipment Co-op, two outdoor retail chains
that are also customer cooperatives, said Thursday they were suspending orders for popular items like Bell bicycle helmets and CamelBak water bottles from the company that owns the brands, Vista Outdoor, because Vista also makes assault-style rifles.
In its statement, REI said it believed it was the job of companies
that manufacture and sell guns and ammunition to “work towards common sense solutions that prevent the type of violence that happened in Florida last month.” REI suggested it was disappointed with Vista for not coming forward with an approach to finding those solutions.
The wave of responses started with a number of companies cutting ties late last week to the National Rifle Association,
and gained momentum when Dick’s Sporting Goods, Walmart and Kroger announced changes to their gun policies, including halting the sale of firearms to customers under the age of 21.
The move marks an escalation of the stances businesses have taken in the past week in the controversial gun
debate since the school shooting in Parkland, Fla., last month that killed 17 students and staff members.