For what it's worth department......
(GunNews) – At least three members of Guns Save Life have approached our leadership asking, “What’s up with Dick’s?” in response to our members’ recent experiences purchasing ammunition at the store.
“It’s a new law,” one member said he was told, while another member was told it was because the Dick’s chain is now selling AR-15s in their stores.
Guns Save Life’s GunNews Editors John Boch and John Naese stopped by Friday morning, September 14th and talked with the Champaign, IL store manager David Eades to seek clarification.
Mr. Eades said that the company had recently changed policy, chain-wide, and was now asking purchasers of ammunition to verify they are U.S. citizens before allowing them to complete ammunition purchases.
This is the message that Dick’s Sporting Goods is asking ammunition
purchasers prior to completing an ammo transaction.
18 USC 922 (d) It shall be unlawful for any person to sell or otherwise
dispose of any firearm or ammunition to any person knowing or
having reasonable cause to believe that such person -
(5) who, being an alien -
(A) is illegally or unlawfully in the United States;
http://www.triangletactical.net/2012/08/21/dicks-sporting-goods-asking-for-citizenship-status-when-purchasing-ammo/
http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=677203
http://www.triangletactical.net/2012/08/28/update-from-dicks-sporting-goods-regarding-citizenship-question-for-ammo-purchases/
Thank you for contacting DICK’S Sporting Goods.
It is always our goal to ensure our customer’s satisfaction by offering quality brand products, store services and the best customer care to all of our valued customers.
I do apologize for any inconvenience you faced when trying to purchase ammo. Federal law prohibits firearms dealers from selling firearms and ammunition to a “prohibited person” because of that we have added a prompt at checkout just for verification purposes. It was not to upset you in any way and I apologize if it did, it’s just a practice that corporate has instilled due to federal law changes.
Your feedback provides us with the opportunity to review our customer’s concerns so that any necessary improvements can be made for the future.
It is our hope that you will return to our store to experience the level of customer satisfaction that we know we are capable of delivering.
We truly appreciate your time and we value your patronage.
Thank you and best regards,
Shane
Customer Service Representative
I then attempted to inform them that just because someone is a non-citizen, does not make them a “prohibited person”, as legal resident aliens are allowed to purchase guns, as well as ammo. This is the next response I received:
Hi Lucas,
Thank you for contacting DICK’S Sporting Goods.
It is always our goal to ensure our customer’s satisfaction by offering quality brand products, store services and the best customer care to all of our valued customers.
If you want further information you can contact your local ATF office if you have concerns. It is federal law that we can only sell ammo and firearms to legal US citizens so because of that we just ask for verification of that.
Your feedback provides us with the opportunity to review our customer’s concerns so that any necessary improvements can be made for the future.
It is our hope that you will return to our store to experience the level of customer satisfaction that we know we are capable of delivering.
We truly appreciate your time and we value your patronage.
Thank you and best regards,
Shane
Customer Service Representative
Being the kind of person that I am, I went ahead and checked out the BATFE website. On this page, they list the following regarding resident aliens and firearms purchases.
Q: May aliens legally in the United States buy firearms?
An alien legally in the U.S. may acquire firearms if he has a State of residence. An alien has a State of residence only if he is residing in that State and has resided in a State continuously for at least 90 days prior to the purchase. An alien acquiring firearms from a licensee is required to prove both his identity, by presenting a government-issued photo identification, and his residency with substantiating documentation showing that he has resided in the State continuously for the 90-day period prior to the purchase. Examples of qualifying documentation to prove residency include: utility bills, lease agreements, credit card statements, and pay stubs from the purchaser’s place of employment, if such documents include residential addresses.See also Item 5, “Sales to Aliens in the United States,” in the General Information section of this publication.[18 U.S.C. 921, 922(b)(3), (d) and (g), 27 CFR478.11 and 478.99(a)]
Now, firearms and ammunition are two different things, but as far as I know, there are not any laws baring legal resident aliens, who can purchase firearms legally from purchasing ammo to go with those firearms (except for rare circumstances with individuals under the age of 21 who legally possess a handgun, you guys are screwed).In my opinion, this citizenship question is poorly worded. If the wording was changed to something like “Are you legally allowed to purchase ammunition?” nobody would have a problem with it, and of course, nobody would probably answer “No” to that question either.
I totally understand this company not wanting to sell ammo to prohibited persons. Keeping a FFL in good standing, and following all of the laws regarding the sales of firearms, and ammo must be a daunting task for a mom and pop gun shop, and to try and keep everything kosher for a large chain must be mind boggling. However, since we now know that citizenship has nothing to do with whether or not someone is a “prohibited person”, hopefully Dick’s will re-visit this issue, and maybe change the wording of the question as not to keep legal residents from purchasing firearms and ammo.