Here’s a list of companies TO BUY from we went aheaded and bolded some of the companies affected!
Mountain Equipment Co-op, facing a backlash from some of its members, will stop selling several popular outdoor brands owned by a U.S. company that also markets assault rifles.
MEC doesn’t sell guns but does carry brands such as Bushnell – binoculars – and CamelBak – water bottles and such. These names are owned by Vista Outdoor Inc., based in Farmington, Utah., a company on which attention has turned in the past two weeks. About half of Vista Outdoor sales are in guns and ammunition, including sales to law enforcement and militaries. Its Savage Arms brand sells semi-automatic military-style weapons, similar to the one used in the murder of 14 teenagers and three adults at a high school in Florida in mid-February.
MEC’s decision to end the sale of names owned by Vista Outdoor, announced Thursday morning, comes amid a shift among some corporations in North America. On Wednesday, Dick’s Sporting Goods Inc., a leading U.S. retailer, said it would no longer sell assault rifles at any of its stores and called on the U.S. government to ban the weapons. “Thoughts and prayers are not enough,” Dick’s said.
Numerous U.S. companies are cutting ties with the National Rifle Association, which has aggressively fought against gun control. Still, other companies have stuck by the NRA, such as FedEx Corp., which gives discounts to NRA members.
In Canada, Canadian Tire Corp.’s Sport Chek sells a number of Vista Outdoor brands, including helmets from Giro and Bell. Canadian Tire sells ammunition from Savage Arms. The company did not respond to repeated requests for comment this week.
Awareness of Vista Outdoor’s two halves emerged over the past week or so. People involved in sports such as cycling were jarred to discover gear they used was connected with guns. Last weekend, a small protest online called on MEC to take action. A petition as of Monday morning had 600 signatures. By Wednesday night, when MEC had finalized its decision, the petition had almost 50,000 names.
MEC has more than 5-million members and presented its decision making in public, from when it said on Twitter Sunday night that the question would be a top management priority on Monday morning through several other posts talking about the various issues in detail. MEC, in its decision, said it will suspend further orders from the five Vista Outdoor brands it…