Florida students who returned to school two weeks after a mass shooting say they were haunted by fresh memories, but heartened by an outpouring of…
Florida students who returned to school two weeks after a mass shooting say they were haunted by fresh memories, but heartened by an outpouring of support.
(AP Photo/Terry Renna). Students wait to cross the street after their first day back at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., Wednesday, Feb. 28,2018. The students were greeted Wednesday morning by police officers carrying military…
Records obtained by The Associated Press show Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens used an email address for a veterans charity he founded to arrange political meetings as he prepared to launch his first bid for public office.
(AP Photo/Jeff Roberson, File). FILE — In this Jan. 29,2018 file photo, Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens speaks in Palmyra, Mo. Missouri lawmakers are returning to the Statehouse for the first time Monday, Feb. 26,2018 since Greitens was indicted, with pl…
When a gunshot was fired from a classroom in the north Georgia mountains and police identified the gunman as a teacher, it immediately pierced the national debate over whether educators should be armed.
(Whitfield County Sheriff’s Office via AP). This undated photo provided by the Whitfield County Sheriff’s Office shows Jesse Randal Davidson. Social studies teacher Davidson barricaded himself inside a classroom at Dalton High School in Dalton, Ga., We…
Pro-gun Republicans in the Georgia legislature have won a political victory over Delta Air Lines, denying the company a hefty tax break after it cut ties with the National Rifle Association.
(Bob Andres/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP). Gov. Nathan Deal holds a press conference to address the jet fuel tax cut issue after the Senate Rules Committee stripped the Delta tax cut from legislation in Atlanta on Wednesday, Feb. 28,2018. Deal…
A freeway-side billboard for a Las Vegas gun range was vandalized overnight to change an advertisement inviting tourists to fire an assault-style rifle to say, «Shoot A School Kid Only $29.».
(Bizuayehu Tesfaye/Las Vegas Review-Journal via AP). This Thursday, March 1,2018 shows a vandalized billboard near Interstate 15 in Las Vegas. The advertisement inviting tourists to fire an assault-style rifle, which originally said «Shoot a.50 calib…
(Photo by Scott Dalton/Invision for DICK’S Sporting Goods/AP Images). In this Oct. 18,2016, photo, Chairman and CEO of DICK’S Sporting Goods Edward W. Stack poses for a photo as he visits a new store at the Baybrook Mall in the Houston. Stack is issui…
A New York City nanny accused of stabbing two small children to death in the bathroom of their Manhattan apartment is heading to trial.
(Susan Watts/The Daily News via AP, File). FILE- In this March 8,2013 file photo, Yoselyn Ortega, center, charged with the stabbing deaths of two small children under her care, is escorted to her seat for her first court appearance in New York. Openin…
(Bob Andres/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP). Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle and Gov. Deal’s chief of staff Chris Riley confer in the senate before the senate went into recess and the Rules Committee stripped the Delta tax cut from legislation. Gov. Nathan D…
Jury selection is scheduled to begin in the trial of the widow of the gunman who police say killed dozens at a Florida nightclub.
Novel proposals to ramp up school security are flying fast as districts respond to heightened safety fears in the aftermath of the shooting in Parkland, Florida.
(Claire Crouch/Lex18News via AP). This Feb. 21,2018 photo made available by Lex18 News, shows a group protesting school safety in Laurel County, KY. In the wake of a mass shooting at a Florida high school, parents and educators are mobilizing to deman…
(AP Photo/Keith Srakocic). The Field & Stream is seen just after opening on Wednesday, Feb. 28,2018 in Cranberry Township, Pa. Dick’s Sporting Goods, owner of Field & Stream stores, made an announcement Wednesday, two weeks after the school ma…
(Photo by Scott Dalton/Invision for DICK’S Sporting Goods/AP Images). In this Oct. 18,2016, photo, Chairman and CEO of DICK’S Sporting Goods Edward W. Stack poses for a photo as he visits a new store at the Baybrook Mall in the Houston. Stack is issui…
(AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh). A Dick’s Sporting Goods store is seen in Arlington Heights, Ill., Wednesday, Feb. 28,2018. Dick’s Sporting Goods announced Wednesday that it will immediately end sales of assault-style rifles and high capacity magazines at all o…
(AP Photo/Elise Amendola, File). FILE — In this June 5,2017, file photo, customers shop for food at Walmart in Salem, N. H. Walmart says it will no longer sell firearms and ammunition to people younger than 21. The retailer’s new policy comes after Dic…
(Photo by Scott Dalton/Invision for DICK’S Sporting Goods/AP Images). In this Oct. 18,2016, photo, Chairman and CEO of DICK’S Sporting Goods Edward W. Stack poses for a photo as he visits a new store at the Baybrook Mall in the Houston. Stack is issui…
NEW YORK (AP) — Kroger will no longer sell guns to anyone under 21 at the stores it owns, becoming the third major retailer this week to put restrictions in place that are stronger than federal laws. The move, following those by Dick’s Sporting Goods and Walmart — and retribution on Delta by lawmakers — emphasizes the pressure companies are facing to take a stand.
The nation’s largest grocery chain has sold guns from 44 of its Fred Meyer stores in the West, but said Thursday that since a mass shooting last month at a Florida high school that killed 17 people, it’s become clear that gun retail outlets must go beyond what current U. S. laws requires.
«In response to the tragic events in Parkland and elsewhere, we’ve taken a hard look at our policies and procedures for firearm sales,» Kroger Co. said in a release.
The change comes one day after Walmart and Dick’s Sporting Goods, both prominent gun sellers, tightened their company policies, and also a day after students returned to Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, for the first time since the shooting there.
And late Thursday outdoor retailer REI says it’s halting future orders of some popular brands — including CamelBak water carriers, Giro helmets and Camp Chef stoves — whose parent company also makes ammunition and assault-style rifles. Seattle-based REI has been facing mounting pressure from some customers.
Companies like Dick’s had already changed gun-sale policies in the wake of the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Connecticut, but the Parkland shooting has opened a fissure between a portion of corporate America and organizations like the National Rifle Association.
MetLife, Hertz and Delta Air Lines and other major U. S. corporations have already cut ties with the National Rifle Association, and at some political risk.
Georgia lawmakers passed a bill Thursday that effectively punishes Delta for cutting ties with the NRA, following through on Republican vows to deny a tax break worth an estimated $38 million to airlines after Delta ended discounts for NRA members in the wake of the most recent school massacre. The Atlanta-based airline would have been the chief beneficiary of the tax break.
One industry analyst said after the announcement from Dick’s, and strong words from its CEO about the need for change, that other retailers that devote a small percentage of their business to hunting will probably follow suit.
«It is a risky game but you can’t please everyone,» said Joseph Feldman, a senior managing director at Telsey Advisory Group.
The announcements from Walmart and Dick’s so far have drawn hundreds of thousands of responses on social media for and against the moves, from those who pledged to buy more from one company to campaigns urging people to thank the companies for their decisions to those who vowed never to buy from them again.
