Mountain Equipment Co-op said Thursday it is dropping brands linked to Vista Outdoor Inc. amid mounting public outcry that it stop selling names connected to the major U.S. gun maker.

Vancouver-based MEC said that effective immediately, it will suspend further orders with the five brands owned by Vista that it carries, including Bollé, Bushnell, CamelBak, Camp Chef and Jimmy Styks. MEC said remaining inventory of those names will remain on its shelves until sold.

MEC does not sell guns, but it faced an online petition calling for it to stop selling brands from Vista, which also develops and makes firearms similar to the type of rifle used in a recent U.S. school shooting. The petition had collected nearly 50,000 signatures by Thursday morning.

“Thousands of MEC members have contacted us to express their concerns and to ask that we stop selling products made by these brands,” David Labistour, MEC’s chief executive, wrote in a letter posted Thursday.

“We’ve also heard from members who believe that purchasing decisions like these should be left to individual consumers and that MEC should not get involved. The fact is, the debate has involved us and as a member-based organization we are compelled to respond.”

The move comes after a teenager killed 17 students and educators at a Florida high school with an AR-15 two weeks ago. The event has caused a shift among a number of North American corporations.

On Wednesday, U.S. retailer Dick’s Sporting Goods said it will immediately end sales of assault-style rifles and high-capacity magazines at all of its stores and ban the sale of all guns to anyone under 21. Walmart announced it would also raise its firearms and ammunition purchasing age. Other U.S. companies including MetLife, Hertz, Delta Airlines and First National Bank of Omaha have also cut ties with the National Rifle Association.

Labistour’s letter said MEC will continue to engage with Vista’s brands “in ways that are consistent with our mission and values.”

“We are in the midst of a complex and highly charged debate with as many opinions as there are people expressing them,” Labistour wrote.