Gander Mountain in WI kicks out NRA-ILA workshops

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Bartholomew Roberts

Moderator
This website: http://the-ooda-loop.com/2012/05/15/gander-mountain-kicks-the-nra-out-of-wisconsin-stores/ is reporting that they have received an alert from the NRA-ILA regarding Gander Mountain stores in Wisconsin.

They report that due to a call-in campaign by antis, Gander Mountain has cancelled NRA-ILA Grassroots Election workshops that were to be held in two stores in Wisconsin this past May. I thought I would pass this along in case anyone wants to remind Gander Mountain who their customer base is.
 
Maybe they'd rather sell trendy bicycle shorts than gun stuff.

Here's the info from the web for contacting them:
David C. Pratt, CEO
Gander Mountain Corporate Office:
180 East Fifth St Suite 1300
St. Paul, MN 55101
Phone: 651-325-4300
 
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Does anyone REALLY buy stuff there? We have one here - I stopped asking for gift cards to it after I went in and saw their prices - I couldn't even justify buying stuff with someone else's money.

They used to be a decent place when they were catalog only - same for Cabela's and Bass - but this will anger a large group who will walk away from them.

Personally, they should have never agreed to hosting ANY political group - there is always another side that will be angry
 
From the g.willikers article linked:

As the largest retailer [of] firearms in the country, Gander Mountain is a tireless supporter of the Second Amendment and has been a longtime partner of the NRA. However, the diversity of Gander Mountain customers and their varied interests prompted us recently to settle on a policy prohibiting hosting events on behalf of political causes or candidates.
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Not everyone's there to buy guns, and not everyone is foaming at the mouth about electing/removing Candidate X. We tend to forget that the average person isn't very politically active, and that politics is a touchy subject.

I get the impression Gander Mountain doesn't want their customers getting stressed out by having politics shoved at them when they walk in the door. There's a difference between a table with NRA materials and a guy grumbling slogans at customers.
 
I'm gonna have to side with Gander Mountain on this one, for two reasons.

The first is that they did not stop, as it seems at first glance, a "workshop". They cancelled an NRA event whose stated purpose was to gin up support for Scott Walker. So this was not a Second Amendment event, it was a political rally. And as already been alluded to, liberals own and like guns just like conservatives do. Remember that Harry Reid and John Conyers are two of the biggest Second Amendment supporters in Congress.

The second is that they did not "ban" anything. They cancelled two political rallies during a politically charged time in the State. They did not ban all NRA workshops.

I imagine that had these been centered around the Second Amendment and not on a very political happening that they would not have been cancelled.

Gander Mountain is right to not want to alienate the public with political rhetoric. We in the gun gun community are already pretty good at that :rolleyes:.
 
Not everyone's there to buy guns, and not everyone is foaming at the mouth about electing/removing Candidate X. We tend to forget that the average person isn't very politically active, and that politics is a touchy subject.

I get the impression Gander Mountain doesn't want their customers getting stressed out by having politics shoved at them when they walk in the door. There's a difference between a table with NRA materials and a guy grumbling slogans at customers.
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Winner Winner chicken dinner....
 
I'm gonna have to side with Gander Mountain on this one, for two reasons.

The first is that they did not stop, as it seems at first glance, a "workshop". They cancelled an NRA event whose stated purpose was to gin up support for Scott Walker. So this was not a Second Amendment event, it was a political rally. And as already been alluded to, liberals own and like guns just like conservatives do. Remember that Harry Reid and John Conyers are two of the biggest Second Amendment supporters in Congress.

The second is that they did not "ban" anything. They cancelled two political rallies during a politically charged time in the State. They did not ban all NRA workshops.

I imagine that had these been centered around the Second Amendment and not on a very political happening that they would not have been cancelled.

Gander Mountain is right to not want to alienate the public with political rhetoric. We in the gun gun community are already pretty good at that
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agreed
 
gander mtn.

After reading the the artical on how gander mtn treated the NRA ,I will not shop there anymore..I prefer shopping at the Fin Feather and Fur do to prices are a lot better on ammo and the gun prices are a lot cheaper as well...plus the staff has a better attitude..
 
The real question is why they would have agreed to allow a blatantly political "workshop" be scheduled in the first place.
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Well, just speculating I suspect they generally support the NRA’s positions, but after complaints they decided on a new policy.
 
Tom Servo said:
From the g.willikers article linked:



Not everyone's there to buy guns, and not everyone is foaming at the mouth about electing/removing Candidate X. We tend to forget that the average person isn't very politically active, and that politics is a touchy subject.

I get the impression Gander Mountain doesn't want their customers getting stressed out by having politics shoved at them when they walk in the door. There's a difference between a table with NRA materials and a guy grumbling slogans at customers.
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Nailed it. My couple of liberal shooting buddies probably would not enjoy having conservative politics shoved at them when they just want to look at some guns.
 
I think the title is misleading.

It really should have been "Gander Moutain won't allow political rallies in their stores."

I have no problem with stores staying out of politics.
 
Let's not forget that not all gun enthusiasts can be pigeon-holed as conservatives or republicans....but that's a political topic, so we won't get into that:o
 
Does anyone REALLY buy stuff there?
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Yes,

I purchased a barely used Savage 110 30-06 with optics for $350; a new compound Diamond bow for about $400, some archery targets, hunting licenses, snorkeling equipment, and a bunch of other stuff. They were having a good sale on gun safes, almost bought one of those too - best deal I could find.

The Gander Mountain I go to is more than 50% dedicated to archery and shooting/hunting sports. They just added on a large firearms training facility. They carry a large assortment of good quality handguns, rifles, shotguns, ammo, gun safes and archery equipment. I really don't understand why so many folks put down Gander Mountain.:confused:
 
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