Gun ammunition vending machines installed at grocery stores in 3 US states
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A vending machine for gun ammunition being installed in a grocery store in Alabama in the US.
PHOTO: AMERICAN ROUNDS
TEXAS – A Texas-based company has started making vending machines for gun ammunition, arguing that this is the safest way to sell it.
The company, American Rounds, has already had six of those machines installed at grocery stores in Texas, Alabama and Oklahoma. Two more are set to be installed by the end of the month in Texas and Colorado, said Mr Grant Magers, the chief executive officer of American Rounds.
“Our ammo is not accessible sitting on a shelf, and we are the only company that absolutely, 100 per cent requires an ID verification,” Mr Magers said.
Gun control advocates said ammunition should not be so easily accessible and that the problems that the vending machine’s makers claim to combat – including ammunition theft from stores and underage ammunition purchases – would be better addressed through stricter regulations.
To use the vending machines, customers follow a touch screen and select from a menu whether they want rounds for a handgun, rifle or shotgun, then choose which specific type of ammunition they would like.
Once a buyer has selected what they want, they put their ID card in a scanner, and a camera on the machine takes pictures of their face to validate their identity and show they are at least 21.
Mr Magers said customer data was not stored, shared or sold. Ammunition can be purchased only with a card; the kiosk does not accept cash.
He claimed this was the most secure way to sell ammunition.
Gun ammunition can be purchased in stores and online. Under US federal law, people must be at least 18 to buy ammunition for shotguns and rifles.
To buy ammunition for other types of guns, people must be at least 21. Some states and local governments have stricter requirements, such as requiring licences for ammunition purchases.
The American Rounds machines require buyers to be at least 21 for all types of ammunition purchases.
There are problems with ammunition theft from stores and with people using fake or stolen identification to purchase it online.
Mr Magers said people who want to purchase ammunition with malicious intent are more likely to buy ammunition from somewhere where they can pay cash, not have their identification checked or buy thousands of rounds without scrutiny. NYTIMES
