Brief update: REI has suspended orders of Vista products! See their statement here. 
 
 More updates on the way! 
 
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 Tell REI to stop carrying Vista products: Bell, Giro, Camelbak and others. Please note if you are an REI member in the comment section. 
 
 
 
 Ever heard of Vista Outdoor? It's a $3 billion company that owns something like 50 brands. More than 75 percent of its business comes from gun and ammo sales—it's one of the biggest ammo companies around. But in 2015, in a bid to diversify its holdings, Vista started buying non-shooting outdoors and bike companies. Vista now owns Camelbak, Giro, Bell Helmets, Bollé, Camp Chef, and Blackburn, among other brands. 
 
 
 
 Vista is a huge NRA supporter. 
 
 
 
 In a 2016 article, Mother Jones magazine linked a rapid rise in Vista's fortunes to a rush to purchase arms following mass shootings in the U.S. Vista has also spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on lobbying at the federal level for defense appropriations, and they've fought hard against the Toxic Substances Control Act in recent years. Vista also sponsors a PAC that has supported political efforts to allow concealed carry of handguns across state lines. 
 
 
 
 These are NOT the values of the REI Co-Op. As an REI Co-Op member, I'm asking my favorite outdoor retailer to take a firm stand and stop profitting from companies that promote and manufactor assault weapons. Sign and share my petition and urge REI to stand by their values and drop all Vista brands. #REIdropVista #BoycottVistaOutdoor 

 Getty/Joe Raedle 
 
 Retailers are jumping on the bandwagon of implementing new firearm-sales policies. 
 
 On Thursday, L.L. Bean announced that after reviewing its policy on firearm sales, it would "no longer be selling guns or ammunition to anyone under the age of 21." 
 
 L.L. Bean's flagship store in Freeport, Maine, was the only store with a license to sell firearms, according to CNN. 
 
 But L.L. Bean's new policy is evidence of a sea change in customers' expectations of retailers that sell guns. 
 
 A man holds a sign at a Walmart in Danbury, Connecticut, in January 2013. REUTERS/ Michelle McLoughlin 
 
 On Wednesday — two weeks after the shooting at a high school in Parkland, Florida, that left 17 people dead — Dick's Sporting Goods announced that shoppers under 21 would be barred from purchasing firearms from it. 
 
 "Our thoughts and prayers are with all of the victims and their loved ones," Dick's said in a letter to customers. 
 
 "But thoughts and prayers are not enough," it continued. "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." 
 
 Walmart made a similar announcement later Wednesday, saying it would restrict customers under 21 from buying guns. On Thursday, Kroger said it would also raise its minimum age for gun sales to 21 from 18. 
 
 Federal law allows those 18 and older to buy rifles or shotguns and those 21 and older to buy handguns from licensed dealers, while states can make further restrictions. 
 
 Beyond raising the minimum age to buy firearms, Kroger and Dick's said they would no longer sell assault-style rifles like the kind used in the Parkland shooting at the limited number of stores where they were offered. 
 
 The wave of policy changes is also touching companies that do not sell guns. 
 
 On Thursday, the outdoor retailer REI announced it would stop ordering brands owned by Vista Outdoor — including Giro, Bell, and CamelBak — citing Vista Outdoor's silence about its plans for its firearm brands such as Savage Arms, which sells what it calls modern sporting rifles. 
 
 An employee at a gun store in Delray Beach, Florida, gives a demonstration in January 2016. Joe Raedle/Getty Images 
 
 "We believe that it is the job of companies that manufacture and sell guns and ammunition to work towards common sense solutions that prevent the type of violence that happened in Florida last month," REI said in a statement. "In the last few days, we've seen such action from companies like Dick's Sporting Goods and Walmart and we applaud their leadership." 
 
 President Donald Trump has expressed support for raising the minimum age to purchase firearms as a way to help reduce gun violence and deaths in the US. 
 
 "I'm going to give it a lot of consideration," Trump said in a meeting with lawmakers on Wednesday. "And I'm the one bringing it up, but a lot of people don't even want to bring it up because they're afraid to bring it up. But you can't buy a handgun at 18, 19, or 20 — you have to wait until you're 21 — but you can buy the gun, the weapon used in this horrible shooting at 18. 
 
 "You are going to decide — the people in this room pretty much are going to decide. But I would give very serious thought to it." 
 
 Trump noted that the National Rifle Association opposes such a policy. 
 
 "The NRA is opposed to it, and I'm a fan of the NRA — there's no bigger fan," Trump said. 
 
 He added: "These are great patriots, they love our country, but that doesn't mean we have to agree on everything." 

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 L.L. Bean became the latest retailer to announce that it will no longer sell guns or ammunition to customers younger than 21. 
 
 In response to a tweet from one consumer asking the outdoors retailer to change its policy, the Maine-based retailer replied late Thursday, "In the wake of this shooting we have reviewed our policy on firearm sales, and we will no longer be selling guns or ammunition to anyone under the age of 21." 
 
 It's the fourth high-profile retailer to change its policy on gun sales to younger customers in the wake of the Parkland, Florida, high school shooting last month. 
 
 On Wednesday Dick's Sporting Goods (DKS), the nation's largest sporting goods retailer, and Walmart (WMT), the nation's largest retailer, announced new their age restrictions. Dick's also said it would no longer sell assault-style rilfes to anyone at its stores. Kroger (KR), the nation's largest grocer, announced Thursday it would raise the age for weapon purchases at its Fred Meyer general merchandise stores. 
 
 Walmart had already dropped sales of those assault-style weapons in 2015. 
 
 In the wake of this shooting we have reviewed our policy on firearm sales, and we will no longer be selling guns or ammunition to anyone under the age of 21. ^kw — L.L.Bean (@LLBean) March 2, 2018 
 
 Privately-held L.L. Bean has 37 stores in 17 states, but only its main flagship store in Freeport, Maine, has a license to sell firearms, according to records from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. It also does not sell any hunting rifles or ammunition on its website, although it does sell some accessories, such as rifle bags and gun lockers. 
 
 Related: Guns in America 
 
 It is already illegal for licensed gun sellers to sell handguns to anyone under the age of 21, but it is legal under federal law to sell rifles of any kind -- including assault-style -- to anyone 18 or older. 
 
 Since the school shooting in Parkland, Florida, gun control activists have loudly called for lawmakers to raise the minimum age for any gun purchase to 21. Nikolas Cruz, the 19 year-old shooter, legally bought at least 10 rifles, a law enforcement source told CNN. 
 
 But many gun rights advocates such as the National Rifle Association oppose raising the age limit to buy a weapon.
– Dick's, Walmart, and Kroger have all tightened their rules regarding gun sales since the Feb. 14 massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., and now a fourth major retailer has joined their ranks. A "superfan" on Twitter Thursday night implored the outdoor-recreation retailer to not sell guns to anyone under 21, and LL Bean replied to what Business Insider calls "a sea change in customers' expectations of retailers that sell guns." "In the wake of this shooting we have reviewed our policy on firearm sales, and we will no longer be selling guns or ammunition to anyone under the age of 21," the company tweeted. CNNMoney notes that of its 37 stores spread across the country, LL Bean was only licensed to sell firearms out of its home-base location in Freeport, Maine. It doesn't offer ammo or hunting rifles on its website. Other outdoor retailers are going further, per the Washington Post. Although REI and Mountain Equipment Co-Op don't sell guns or ammo, they decided to turn the screws on Vista Outdoor, the parent company of brands (including CamelBak and Giro) that both REI and MEC sell in their stores. Vista Outdoor has lucrative firearms and ammunition brands under its umbrella, as well as ties to the NRA: It regularly claims a booth at the NRA's annual gun show. Both REI and MEC heard from customers and announced they would stop ordering Vista products, at least temporarily. "We believe that it is the job of companies that manufacture and sell guns and ammunition to work towards common sense solutions," REI said in a statement. MEC chief David Labistour wrote in an open letter he hopes customers will find decision to be "balanced and considered."