Posted on 07/11/2024 12:44:57 PM PDT by Red Badger
Supermarkets in multiple states are now selling firearm ammunition right out of a dispenser.
VIDEO AT LINK....................
Americans love guns. Not only do roughly 40 percent of Americans say they live in a household with guns, but the U.S. beats out every other country on Earth when it comes to the ratio of guns to people (the 2nd most gun-dense country is Yemen, and it’s not even close). Indeed, the U.S. is actually the only country in the world that has more firearms than people. Congratulations, everybody. Given all that, it’s really not surprising that, in some states, you can now walk into a grocery store and buy ammunition from a vending machine as if you were buying a candy bar or a Red Bull.
Well, sorta. Not quite. The vending machine company behind this new trend, American Rounds, says it uses artificial intelligence and facial recognition technologies to verify that buyers are of legal age to buy bullets. So it’s a slightly more rigorous process than buying a Twix.
“As a company our team are supporters of law abiding responsible gun ownership. We believe in the second amendment and that by providing a safe and secure method to sell ammunition is needed in the market,” said American Rounds CEO Grant Magers in an email, when reached for comment by Gizmodo.
Magers, who calls his machines Automated Ammo Retail Machine, or AARMs, said that his company is currently active in eight locations, including in multiple stores in Alabama, Oklahoma, Texas, and Colorado. However, he added that the company was currently seeing immense growth, and had “over 200 store requests for AARM units covering approximately 9 states currently,” a number he said is “growing daily.”
There are shockingly few regulations around ammunition purchases in the U.S., but some of the few that exist are age-based. Federal law says you have to be at least 18 years old to buy ammunition for long guns, like rifles and shotguns, and if you want to buy bullets for handguns, you have to be at least 21. As such, American Rounds has created an identity verification mechanism for its bullet vending machines that can supposedly verify how old the person buying the ammunition is.
“Our smart retail automated ammo dispensers have built-in AI technology, card scanning capability and facial recognition software,” the company’s website states. “Each piece of software works together to verify the person using the machine matches the identification scanned.”
Magers told Gizmodo that his company’s model was actually safer than the existing ammunition sales model. “Currently ammunition is sold off the shelf or online. These environments lead to inadvertent sales to underaged purchasers and or (in the case of retail stores) a high theft rate. What we loved about this concept is the AARM units use state of the art ID scanners combined with facial recognition before a transaction can be made,” Magers said in an email.
Magers said that this model “ensures that the individual is of legal age and that they are who they represent themselves to be. The machines themselves weigh up to 2000lbs and are well secured from theft. We only place them inside stores and not outside (i.e., Redbox).” Magers added that the company has plans to “expand our product offering at the machines” but couldn’t divulge the plans as they are still developing.
On July 5, a local news outlet in Alabama reported that a store in Tuscaloosa had removed one of the machines after “the legality of the machine was questioned” at a city council meeting. The city’s legal department admitted the machines were legal if they met proper zoning requirements. The store has said that it “removed the machine on July 3rd because of a lack of sales,” the outlet reported.
Update, July 11, 2:17 p.m. ET: This story has been updated to include a statement from the American Rounds CEO.
Bulk is the way to go. I buy cases of 8 lb jugs of powder and 10-20k primers at a time. Of course I shoot 8k+ rounds every year.
“Federal law says you have to be at least 18 years old to buy ammunition for long guns, like rifles and shotguns, and if you want to buy bullets for handguns, you have to be at least 21.”
I remember walking into the hardware store on Court Square in my small town, and buying .22 shorts for my rifle at 13 years old. No questions asked.
Can’t wait for the F-15 versions. Joe says I need those to protect my family against the govt.
Only problem I see with this is they want biometric data before purchase
Who knew one grandma had such a collection - AR-15s, AR-10s, AKs, shotguns, 9mm, 10mm, .22, .38, .45, even .50 cal?
She was just upset because you unintentionally reminded her that both she and her soyboy boyfriend need to start dating other men.
Let’s see how quickly a database is created of persons who are buying bullets for their guns. It will be followed up with queries regarding legal ownership or licensed status.
They also have a camera and match your face to the license picture.
Yea, I think it’s a ploy for sure
With ID and bank info they turn off your money, your car, your credit and your ability to travel until they have your weapons “cache”.
It makes a lot of sense. What if you’re in a shootout - a proper shootout - and your backup mag runs dry? The bad guy has run out too, so you meet him at the vending machine and bitch about how expensive ammo is in general, slam your purchases back in, give him a high five, and declare Time In. Civilization has returned!
A camera could be fooled with a printout of grandma’s face.
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