Guns Will No Longer Be Sold at Any Dick’s Sporting Goods in Maine

I love the idea of hunting, but I just can't shoot an animal.

I admit, I have a near-crippling love of animals. I wouldn't go so far as to say that I'm ready to join PETA or something like that, but I love all of the Earth's creatures, great and small. On the other hand, I have absolutely zero issues with people who do enjoy hunting. More than once, I've enjoyed the gifts from my hunting friends.

Read More: Mainers Definitely Have a Lot of Guns, But Do We Have the Most?

I'm happy to eat a deer, I just can't put one in the crosshairs myself. Hunting in Maine is a tradition as old as the state itself. My great-great uncle was a hunter for a lumber camp up north. All he did, day in and day out, was hunt for fresh game to feed the loggers. That was as important as any other job in the camp.

But hunting isn't the reason why Dick's is getting rid of guns.

A few years back, according to the BDN, the CEO of Dick's was extremely moved by the aftermath of the Parkland, Florida mass shooting that took place in 2018. At that point, the company began drastically scaling back its efforts to sell firearms to the public, so this isn't really a new move for Dick's.

Here in Maine, the South Portland store stopped carrying guns two years ago. And while the company hasn't said it out loud specifically, besides the SoPo store, Maine's other Dick's locations made the move to give up their gun sales shortly after the tragedy that struck Lewiston last fall.

The Bangor Dick's location has now also followed suit.

The pulling of guns from store shelves has not finally hit the location in the Bangor Mall. This now means that there are no Dick's stores carrying guns anywhere in Maine. Nationwide, Dick's has eliminated gun sales at nearly 600 of their locations. Not all big-box stores have pulled them, though.

Read More: Maine Store Uses a Very Specific Chart to Show How Many Deer Fit

Some have opted to scale back sales or eliminate assault rifles, such as the AR-15. On the other hand, this is Maine. Places to buy guns are not hard to come by. So while this will affect Dick's bottom line for sure, Mainers can rest assured that there are still plenty of places to get whatever you're looking for. Just not at Dick's.

Let's see where Maine falls on this list. Check it out...