Vending Machines that Sell Ammo, Coming to a Store Near You?

A technological development from an American company of a way to legally sell ammunition has been going viral. The use of vending machines to legally validate age and sell ammunition causes some people to ignore all facts and logic and emote “guns are bad!”

The vending machines in question, from American Rounds, use computer technology to validate age with picture ID. If the person attempting to purchase ammunition is over 21 years old, they may purchase the ammunition using a picture ID, which the machine validates using facial recognition software. Only credit or debit card purchases seem possible. There does not appear to be any way to pay with cash on the face of the machine. This means a double check of identification takes place, as the person whose identification is validated must also use a credit card, which has to be separately validated.

According to the American Rounds website, the machines have been installed in six locations in two states and are expected to be installed in other states shortly. The machines are considered more secure than traditional stores, where ammunition is available on the shelf and subject to a greater chance of pilferage.

The emoting over the introduction of this technology is expected, ignoring facts and logic.

During the meeting, Councilman Kip Tyner said; “I got some calls about ammunition being sold in grocery stores, vending machines, the vending machines. Is that? I mean, I thought it was a Lie. I thought it was a joke – but it’s not.”

The Daily Mail and the Telegraph pushed hard on the “guns are bad!” theme by including misleading statistics on suicides and homicides committed with firearms, using the Orwellian term “gun violence.”  The American Rounds website does not show any vending machines installed in Texas at this time. The Daily Mail article only shows vending machines installed in Oklahoma and Alabama. Yet, The Daily Mail makes this statement:

“Meanwhile, Texas, where American Rounds have vending machines, has the highest number of gun related deaths in the US with an average of over 4,600.”

There is no significant evidence of overall suicides or homicides being reduced when firearms are singled out for severe legal restrictions. Suicides or homicides with firearms may be reduced. Overall, suicides are not reduced because of the easy substitution of other methods. Overall homicides are not reduced because of substitution of methods and the reduction of defensive options.  As the stated purpose of such laws is to reduce suicide rates and homicide rates, the laws do not work.  

The theory of suicide or homicide reduction by severe regulation of firearms does not hold true when subjected to real-world trials.

The good: Common ammunition will be available at more locations, sometimes for 24 hours a day. If you are on a hunting trip and have forgotten your ammunition, this would be useful. If you are far from a sporting goods store, a vending machine in a grocery store could save you time and money.

The bad: Ammunition sales are linked to an individual, and the sales are digitally stored, possibly forever. This is another step toward firearms registration and confiscation. Ammunition was commonly available at many retail outlets, without age limits, before 1968. The federal government severely limited retail sales and required voluminous records from 1968 to 1986. The Firearms Owners Protection Act removed the record-keeping requirement In 1986. Such records had no effect except to inconvenience purchasers and sellers, and to facilitate theft of firearms. Paper records were commonly kept with the ammunition and were easily available to most people, including thieves.

The real: The vending machines store extremely limited quantities and varieties of ammunition. If you need ammunition for a .17 HMR or a .270 Weatherby Magnum, you are unlikely to find it in a vending machine. Records are being kept, but so are all records of credit card sales. Most states do not prohibit the private transfer of ammunition from one person to another of legal age. Criminals use very small amounts of ammunition. A couple of boxes can last for years. Such small amounts are easily available on the grey and black markets.

Overall, this is a positive development that helps to restore the normalization of firearms ownership and use in the United States of America.

About Dean Weingarten:

Dean Weingarten has been a peace officer, a military officer, was on the University of Wisconsin Pistol Team for four years, and was first certified to teach firearms safety in 1973. He taught the Arizona concealed carry course for fifteen years until the goal of Constitutional Carry was attained. He has degrees in meteorology and mining engineering, and retired from the Department of Defense after a 30 year career in Army Research, Development, Testing, and Evaluation.