Michigan 18-year-old sues Dick’s over new gun age rule

An 18-year-old Michigan man has filed a lawsuit against Dick’s Sporting Goods over its decision not to sell guns to anyone under the age of 21. 

Tristin Fulton, a high school senior and son of a gun shop co-owner, filed the lawsuit on Tuesday after the sporting goods store in Troy, Mich., refused to sell him a firearm, according to USA Today.

“I’m 18,” Fulton said Thursday. “I’m legally allowed to purchase a firearm, and I should have been allowed to.

“By denying me my right to purchase a firearm that day, they violated the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act,” he added.

The Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act in Michigan prohibits discriminatory practices, policies and customs on the basis of religion, age, race, national origin, sex, height and weight, USA Today reported. 

This is the second known lawsuit Dick’s is facing over gun policy. A 20-year-old man in Oregon filed a similar lawsuit against the retailer and Walmart, which institute a similar policy, on Tuesday. 

Dick’s announced last month that it would stop selling assault-style rifles and stop allowing customers under the age of 21 to purchase guns or ammunition. 

The move was made in response to the mass shooting at a high school in Parkland, Fla., last month, where a 19-year-old former student is accused of killing 17 people.