US retail chain ends sale of assault rifles

WASHINGTON - US sporting goods retailer Dick's said Wednesday that it will stop selling assault-style rifles, joining a host of US companies making a stand against guns.

"We felt that we really needed to do something and so we've decided not to sell these assault weapons any longer in any of our stores," Edward Stack, Dick's CEO, said in a TV interview.

"Based on what's happened, and looking at those kids and those parents, it moved us all unimaginably and to think about the loss and the grief that those kids and those parents had, we said, we need to do something," Stack said, referring to the Parkland massacre that killed 17 on Feb 14.

The company said it will raise the minimum age to purchase guns in its stores to 21 and will stop selling high-capacity magazines.

Stack said his company is anticipating a backlash from pro-gun groups, but vowed that the decision was irreversible.

"And we're taking these guns out of all of our stores permanently," he said.

The move came as a number of US companies have voiced their concerns about lax gun regulations in the country and severed ties with the National Rifle Association (NRA), the prominent advocate group for gun rights.

The First National Bank of Omaha said that it will terminate a NRA-branded credit card, and a number of car-rental companies and airlines have scrapped discounts for NRA members.