A Dallas-based company, American Rounds, is garnering attention with its unique approach to ammunition sales. The company has introduced vending machines stocked with ammo in grocery stores across Alabama, Oklahoma, and South Texas, with plans to expand to the Dallas-Fort Worth area soon.
Grant Magers, CEO of American Rounds, emphasizes that these high-tech vending machines utilize ID-verifying and facial recognition software to ensure only individuals over 21 can make purchases.
Buyers insert their ID into the machine, which is then cross-checked with an AI-powered facial recognition scanner to confirm their identity. Magers asserts that this double-verification system creates a “safer environment” for ammo sales by reducing shoplifting and preventing underage purchases.
Currently, American Rounds has one vending machine in Alabama, four in Oklahoma, and one in a Lowe’s Market in Canyon Lake, Texas, with a second machine expected there soon. The company is also setting up a machine in Colorado.
Vending machines’ criticisms
Despite the innovative approach, the company faces criticisms from gun control advocates. Magers attributes much of the scrutiny to a lack of understanding about the current ammunition market.
Nicole Golden, executive director of Texas Gun Sense, expressed concerns that these machines could complicate efforts to tighten gun laws in the state. She worries that expanded access to ammunition might enable dangerous individuals to acquire bullets, given that background checks are not required for ammo purchases.
“Many gun owners are very vocally in support of common-sense gun laws and practices, and it may be that this is not viewed as a common-sense practice when we know there is more, we need to do to protect our communities from gun violence,” Golden said. “We’ve already faced an uphill battle in passing [gun control legislation] … It just seems questionable as to if this is heading in the right direction.”
Magers believes that American Rounds’ vending machines address these issues while respecting Second Amendment rights. Although federal law permits individuals to buy shotgun and rifle ammunition at the age of 18, the vending machines set a higher age requirement of 21. The machines, weighing over a ton, are installed securely inside stores, reducing the risk of theft.
Many are sceptical
“I think in people’s minds, they think of the old standard vending machines that drop a candy bar or a bag of chips to the bottom, and that’s not what [our vending machines] are,” Magers said. “Ammunition is sold in the market today off the shelf… it is a high theft item and it is rarer than people realize that IDs are even checked.”
While Magers defends the security of American Rounds’ age verification system, some gun control advocates remain sceptical. Nick Suplina, an executive with Everytown for Gun Safety, questioned the placement of ammo vending machines in grocery stores, stating, “Innovations that make ammunition sales more secure via facial recognition, age verification, and the tracking of serial sales are promising safety measures that belong in gun stores, not in the place where you buy your kids milk.”
Suplina added, “In a country awash in guns and ammo, where guns are the leading cause of deaths for kids, we don’t need to further normalize the sale and promotion of these products.”
However, Magers argues that the company’s primary clients are grocery stores in large hunting communities where gun ownership is already normalized. He notes that there are 200 grocery stores across nine states requesting machines.
Future plans for vending machines
American Rounds stated that the Tuscaloosa machine was removed due to “disappointing sales”, but with hundreds of requests for installations, the company is rapidly expanding.
“We believe that we are creating a safer environment for the sale of ammunition, and that is what we strive to do. We want to create a safer environment while maintaining the integrity of the Second Amendment,” Magers said. “I think that everyone can agree that is a good goal.”
Sources:
First ammo vending machine in Texas debuts in San Antonio
Bullet for My Vending Machine: Local Company Puts Ammo in Grocery Stores
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