"Dick’s Sporting Goods took a stand on gun sales — and made a big statement," 06 Mar 2018

When Dick's Sporting Goods CEO Edward W. Stack took a stance after the Parkland, Fla., school massacre, most of the attention was on what his retail chain would stop doing: It would no longer sell assault weapons, no longer sell high-capacity magazines and no longer sell guns to customers under age 21. Stack's statement also was notable for what he said he wanted to see done...he outlined specific measures...gun legislation should cover. The memo called for banning assault-style firearms, raising the minimum age for gun purchases, banning high-capacity magazines and bump stocks, requiring universal background checks including relevant mental-health data and "previous interactions with the law" requiring a database of prohibited buyers, and closing the private-sale and gun show loophole. His explicit call for legislation also turned a page in the recent chapter of CEO activism...and researchers who study the issue cite a couple of reasons CEOs may be more willing to follow Stack and make more-explicit proposals. Meanwhile, as CEOs increasingly speak out on social issues, people may be expecting more from them...people are going to ask the follow-up questions.