The CEO of Dick's on why retailers have been forced into the front lines of the battle over gun control
- Dick's Sporting Goods CEO Ed Stack said people were increasingly looking to the private sector for action on gun control.
- In an October interview with Business Insider, Stack spoke about embracing gun-reform advocacy.
- "I think there's more to be done, and I think that more will be done," Stack said.
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When it comes to the possibility of Congress passing major gun-reform measures, most people aren't anticipating much by way of swift and decisive action.
In August, Suffolk University and USA Today polled 1,000 voters on whether they believed Congress would tighten gun laws. Sixty-eight percent of respondents said they didn't think Congress would "pass any significant gun-control legislation in the coming year."
According to Dick's Sporting Goods CEO Ed Stack, who spoke with Business Insider about his book "It's How We Play the Game" in October, that's the reason why consumers are increasingly expecting businesses to take the initiative on guns.
"There's just not much leadership coming out of Washington," Stack told Business Insider. "The country is looking for leadership, and they're getting it from the private sector right now."
Stack's company announced it would halt sales of AR-15-style rifles after it was discovered that Dick's had sold a gun to the Parkland, Florida, shooting suspect Nikolas Cruz in 2018. What's more, the company destroyed $5 million worth of weapons after the decision.
But the Dick's CEO's gun-reform advocacy didn't stop there. Stack met with the families of Parkland victims in the wake of the mass shooting.
Dick's isn't the only retailer to tackle gun control recently. Walmart banned open carry and sales of certain types of ammunition after the deadly mass shooting at its El Paso, Texas, store over the summer. Stores like Kroger and Wegmans followed suit.
Stack joined a handful of other retail CEOs when he signed a letter supporting HR8, a bill that would require background checks for all firearm sales. The House of Representatives passed the bill in February, but Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has yet to raise it in the Senate.
"I wish he'd have the guts to bring it to a vote," Stack said.
Stack himself has also traveled to Washington, DC, to lobby members of Congress.
He said politicians' reactions to his lobbying were "split right across party lines." Democratic legislators were receptive to Stack's message. Republicans were not.
"I was just disappointed, surprised, and fill in the blank about how people in Washington can't argue this in a rational way and come together with the intent to solve a problem," Stack said. "I just don't understand. It's not a political hot button any longer."
Stack said that, for this reason, the private sector must "keep this conversation going" around gun reform.
"I think there's more to be done, and I think that more will be done," Stack said.
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