Dick’s Sporting Goods Will DESTROY All Guns Removed From Shelves

Dick’s Sporting Goods pulled all of their guns they determined to be “assault weapons style” from the shelves in the wake of the Parkland Florida school shooting.  Now, they’ve announced that they will destroy all guns that weren’t sold because they took them off the shelves.

“We are in the process of destroying all firearms and accessories that are no longer for sale as a result of our February 28th policy change,” a spokesperson from Dick’s Sporting Goods told the Pittsburgh Post Gazette. “We are destroying the firearms in accordance with federal guidelines and regulations.” Instead of  returning them to the manufacturer, the sports retailer decided to destroy the “assault-style rifles.”

Following the 2012 shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, the retailer had pulled modern sporting rifles from its namesake stores nationwide. When it later opened its specialty Field & Stream stores, it introduced the modern sporting rifles to its product line there. The company did not comment on what it did with the firearms it pulled from its Dick’s stores in 2012.

According to Fox News, on February 28, 2018, the Pittsburgh-based company announced it would immediately stop selling assault-style rifles and ban the sale of all guns to anyone under 21 at their Field & Stream stores. It was not immediately clear how many firearms will be destroyed but all of the rifles will be demolished at distribution centers and then delivered to a salvage company to be recycled.

“Thoughts and prayers are not enough,” the company said in a statement. “We support and respect the Second Amendment, and we recognize and appreciate that the vast majority of gun owners in this country are responsible, law-abiding citizens. But we have to help solve the problem that’s in front of us.”  So they intend to destroy guns that good people would never use to harm anyone unless a self-defense situation warranted it.  That’s like castrating yourself because your neighbor has too many kids. But no one has ever accused a gun control activist of using logic.

Dick’s Sporting Goods is also facing a battle with the gun rights crowd over their controversial decision to deny 18-20 year-olds their Constitutional and basic fundamental human right of self-defense by refusing to sell them guns. The sporting goods store is currently facing two lawsuits due to the self-imposed age limit on purchasing firearms because legally, those who are 18 may purchase guns.

 

GOP Bill Could Let Employers Access Your Genetic and Health Info

A GOP bill in Congress could give employers access to employees’ personal medical and genetic information and increase financial penalties for people who reject workplace wellness programs. [1]

House Republicans have proposed this legislation that would make it easier for companies to gather DNA and health information from employees and their families – children included – when it’s collected as part of a ‘voluntary’ workplace wellness program. Debate still remains, however, on the effectiveness of such wellness programs in general. [2]

H.R. 1313, the Preserving Employee Wellness Programs Act, was proposed by Rep. Virginia Foxx, a Republican from North Carolina and chair of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce. The bill is under review by other House committees and is awaiting review by the Senate. It has drawn the ire of numerous consumer, health, and privacy advocacy groups, as well as House Democrats.

A spokesperson for the House committee argued that “the legislation will reaffirm existing law and provide regulatory clarity so that employers can have the certainty they need to help lower health care costs for their employees.” Opponents, however, say that the bill could undermine existing laws designed to protect an individual’s personal medical information from use by employers and others. [2]

In a statement, Nancy J. Cox, Ph.D., president of The American Society of Human Genetics, said:

“We urge the Committee not to move forward with consideration of this bill. As longtime advocates of genetic privacy, we instead encourage the Committee to pursue ways to foster workplace wellness and employee health without infringing upon the civil rights afforded by ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) and GINA (Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act).” [2]

GINA was intended to prohibit genetic discrimination, and passed Congress with bipartisan support in 2008. Under the bill, companies can neither hire nor fire workers on genetic grounds, and GINA banned employers from asking for DNA test results. Workplace wellness programs were the exception to the rule, but the information had to be given voluntarily and only the program director, not employers, would have access. [3]

When President Obama signed the Affordable Care Act into law in 2010, employers were given the power to levy financial incentives and penalties to urge employees to participate in the supposedly voluntary programs.

As of 1 January 2017, according to Equal Employment Opportunity Commission regulations, employees who opt out of a wellness program can face penalties of up to 30% more, or even 50% more under certain conditions, for work health insurance than those who participate in the program.

Under the Republican bill, employers can demand DNA test results for employees in wellness programs, which directly conflicts with the GINA ban on forcing workers to share their results. If the bill is passed, it would mean that the GINA provisions don’t apply to wellness programs.

Cox said that, if enacted, the bill would “fundamentally undermine” GINA and ADA. [2]

In a letter to Foxx, a group of advocates, including AARP, the American Diabetes Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Epilepsy Foundation, the March of Dimes, and others wrote:

“We strongly oppose any legislation that would allow employers to inquire about employees’ private genetic information or medical information unrelated to their ability to do their jobs, and to impose draconian penalties on employees who choose to keep that information private.” [1]

Sources:

[1] The New York Times

[2] Fox News

[3] Buzzfeed

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About Julie Fidler:
	Julie Fidler is a freelance writer, legal blogger, and the author of Adventures in Holy Matrimony: For Better or the Absolute Worst. She lives in Pennsylvania with her husband and two ridiculously spoiled cats. She occasionally pontificates on her blog.