A popular gun store chain in South Carolina called the Palmetto State Armory (PSA) saw the announcement by Dick’s Sporting Goods that they would cease selling “assault rifles” over the Parkland shooting and decided to correct Dick’s in their misguided attempt at winning publicity points.

According to NBC News2, PSA wrote a public statement that essentially made Dick’s look like the ignorant virtue signaling company it is by both correcting its language, and by pointing out that the company is placing all the blame on the wrong thing:

Palmetto State Armory would like to go on record stating that we support the Second Amendment. While this may seem like an obvious statement, we as a company felt it necessary to make our opinion known to the general public. Palmetto State Armory also strongly supports the First Amendment which enables individuals to voice their opinions, even those in contrast with our own. We believe that a primary purpose of the Second Amendment is actually to protect the First Amendment.

In regards to the actions taken today by the CEO of Dick’s Sporting Goods to no longer sell the AR-15 platform, while we do not agree with this decision, we recognize the fact that capitalism gives him the right to make this call. PSA however, does have an issue when misinformation is spread in the very next sentence by referring to the platform as an “assault rifle.” AR stands for Armalite Rifle which pays homage to the company that originally created the platform. To blame the rifle or a high capacity magazine for the actions of an evil man is illogical and is only applied when referring to firearms. Senseless acts of violence are a terrible plague on society that we all recognize we need to try and prevent as a community, but to blame a tool such as a firearm is at very best missing the point of the problem. When a vehicle is used to commit an act of violence we as a society do not blame the car, we do not blame the speed, or the steering wheel, but rather the driver. It is our hopes that we can approach this negativity with humanity and both sides of the argument can come together and have a civil and intellectual conversation that continues to make this amazing county better. We are all in this together, and we all want the same thing. Safety, happiness, and the “American Dream.”

PSA’s PSA is the breath of fresh mountain air after being forced to breathe in the smog of the city, as they are 100 percent correct.

As you read this, there are currently millions of guns sitting idly in the ownership of millions of owners, and not one of them will be used for nefarious reasons. Many of them, however, will end up being used for virtuous or recreational reasons. The gun is definitely not the problem, the problem is with the person who is suffering some kind of social or mental negativity that puts them over the edge.

While Dick’s sporting goods does have every right to make it seem like they care about gun violence by refusing to sell anymore — and pay attention, because this is important — A(rmalite) R(ifle)-15’s, the truth of the matter is that Dick’s stopped selling those rifles years ago, and only offered them through their “field and stream” offshoot stores, of which there are only 35 in the entire U.S..

Dick’s lacks both knowledge about the gun they were selling and skin in the game to make a real difference anyway.

Thanks to PSA for calling out Dick’s for their ridiculous gesture. You should shop there. They’ve earned it.