For at least two Meridian gun stores, it will be business as usual — one continuing to sell AR-15 rifles and the other hardly selling any – in the wake of Dick’s Sporting Goods announcement Wednesday it would end sales of assault-style rifles and high capacity magazines.

“Firearms are not a liability to us — we see it as investing in assets,” said Josh Halliburton, manager at Modern Outfitters in Meridian. “Whatever Dick’s has decided to do is not going to affect our business whatsoever.”

Dick’s, which will also ban the sale of all guns to anyone under 21, made the announcement two weeks after the Valentine’s Day school massacre in Parkland, Florida.

Halliburton describes Dick’s as a “box store,” which is different from Modern Outfitters.

“There is no comparison between us,” Halliburton said. “We have more law enforcement contracts than we have civilians walking in the door…We are a manufacturers, Dick’s isn’t. We cater to a different clientele…There’s a reason that we have the big contracts that we do, it’s because we’re good at it.”

Halliburton said the AR-15 is Modern Outfitters’ biggest seller, adding the AR-15 sales “IS our business.”

“If you’re into hunting or sports shooting or long-range precision shooting or law enforcement… and you don’t have a Modern Outfitters firearm… then you’re probably not serious about what you’re doing,” Halliburton said.

Dewayne Thomas, owner of Thomas Gun & Pawn in Meridian, said he doesn’t sell many AR-15 rifles, as his main sellers are “hunting rifles, sporting guns and pistols for self protection.”

“We never have been real deep into the AR-15 market because it fluctuates so much, just depending on who is in office,” Thomas said. “I mean it can go from a $500 gun to a $1,000 gun, and then it can go back down to a $500 gun real quick. And the rest of the firearms we sell are pretty stable, and that’s the reason we don’t get into them that much.”

As for the announcement, Dick’s Chairman and CEO Edward Stack said in a “Good Morning America” interview, “When we saw what the kids were going through and the grief of the parents and the kids who were killed in Parkland, we felt we needed to do something.”

Dick’s had cut off sales of assault-style weapons at Dick’s stores following the Sandy Hook school shooting, but no such ban existed at its dozens of Field & Stream stores.

In a letter released Wednesday, Stack wrote, “”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. Gun violence is an epidemic that’s taking the lives of too many people, including the brightest hope for the future of America — our kids.”

Stack said Nikolas Cruz, the gunman who killed 17 people in Florida, mostly students, had purchased a shotgun at a Dick’s store in November 2017.

While guns that have been pulled from the racks at Dick’s stores are not typically used for hunting, the company has entered an intense national conversation that most companies steer clear of to avoid offending potential customers.

Stack said on “Good Morning America” that Dick’s is prepared for any potential backlash, but will never allow the sale of such guns in its stores again.

Stack on Wednesday called on elected officials to ban assault-style firearms, bump stocks and high capacity magazines and raise the minimum age to buy firearms to 21. He said universal background checks should be required, and there should be a complete universal database of those banned from buying firearms. He also called for the closure of the private sale and gun show loophole that waives the necessity of background checks.

Dick’s closest stores to Meridian are in Columbus, 77 miles to the north, and Flowood, 80 miles to the west.

On the Meridian Star Facebook page, several readers posted comments about the Dick’s announcement.

Michael Felts wrote, “Glad to see a company take a step in the right direction,” and Brenda Kimbrough Hiatt wrote, “A very brave move that I sincerely hope becomes a trend.”

Robert Reid wrote, “Great just one less place a lot of people will be spending their money at, I’m sure other shops are glad to be the business,” and Rusty Harrison wrote, “Meridian star (sic) you should ask the question what IS an assault rifle. Last time I checked you could assault someone with any gun.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.