Dick's first modified its gun-sales policy in the wake of the Sandy Hook false-flag shooting, saying it would no longer sell AR-15s and certain other semiautomatic rifles.

But Dick's quickly circumvented its pledge by opening its outdoor-focused Field & Stream chain.

After the mass shooting last February at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, Dick's was one of the first businesses in the U.S. to clamber on board the ensuing "March for Our Lives" gun-control movement by declaring they would stop selling assault rifles and high-capacity magazines, bar the legal sale of guns to those under age 21, and hire their own gun-control lobbyists to push for stricter gun laws nationwide.

On the Parkland shooting, see "Parkland school shooting: Eyewitnesses saw killer wearing different clothes" and "Application for 'March For Our Lives' permit was made months before Parkland school shooting".

At the time, Dick's paradoxically predicted that although the move could hurt sales, it would also draw more shoppers to its stores.