To Whom It May Concern:
Thank you in advance for taking the time to read my concerns. My name is William Sullivan, and I have been a shopper at your [local] locations since I was old enough to buy my own sports/outdoor equipment. My father is an avid fisherman, and he was a customer long before that. I am, however troubled by your recent circulars, which I regularly peruse, that have neglected to advertise the sale of firearms for many weeks now. In the current political context, this troubles me.
I am a financial professional by trade, and as a side business and passion, I am an author who contributes to various political magazines which carry substantial readership. On the topic of the Second Amendment, I am a stern believer that changes to its form and intent should come via legislation/amendment abridging it (if at all), and certainly not shaped via executive intimidation or media/corporate campaigns.
On this, I do not budge, nor should any American who values our laws that grant us this unique right which affords the self-preservation of liberty. (As evidence of the sternness of this belief, I direct you to this recent article I’ve authored: http://www.americanthinker.com/2013/01/how_many_bullets_are_enough.html)
Enough time has elapsed to surmise that these omissions of firearm sales in your circulars amount to succumbing to political pressure in our current environment, as a detailed look at previous circulars would show no such omissions for any such length of time, to my knowledge. This makes Academy, either in fear of public backlash or complicit association, an integral part of a public campaign to marginalize firearms in general.
I understand that you have every right to not see it this way, and that your company’s public relations representatives can offer various, yet thoroughly less convincing, criteria for these omissions beyond the conclusion at which I have arrived. And I also understand that the loss of my business, and that of my friends who value and share my opinion, will not alter your chosen agenda. But suffice it to say that my son, now three years old and for whom I will be purchasing his first fishing pole and tackle this year, will be selecting these milestone possessions elsewhere if my concerns are not reasonably addressed.
As stated before, thank you for reading my concerns. I will end my correspondence in asking that you address them, as ending my time as an Academy customer is not something that I do happily, but something I will do as a matter of personal conviction if my concerns are not assuaged.
With the deepest sincerity,
William Sullivan
