Kids can buy ammo Online, group finds

Several major retailers fail to verify buyers' age

By: Nick Penzerstaler
USA Today

..... For $30 and a few clicks, any child can have a box of 20 rounds of .223 rifle ammunition delivered to their doorstep within days.
..... That's what Everytown for gun Safety found when it sent people undercover recently to test federal law prohibiting ammo sales to minors by ordering rifle rounds form seven top e-commerce retailers.
..... Age verification amounted to check-boxes and requirements buried in the sites' terms of service. none required purchasers to upload an identification or have an adult sign for delivery.
..... Evertown served well-known sites such as Brownelss and Guns.com as well as bulk ammo warehouses with more opaque ownership, such as Florida-based BHAmmo.com .
..... "This shows how the gun industry will maximize profits over safety,' Justin Wanger, Everytown's senior director of investigations, said this week. [03/21/2024] "Other industries like alcohol delivery and Online gambling have found ways to do robust age verification, but the gun industry can't be bothered."
..... Under federal law, you have to be 18 to buy rifle and shotgun ammunition and 21 for handgun ammo. But the law doesn't prescribe how sellers must verify age; it holds them in violation of the statute only if they "know or have reasonable cause to believe the purchaser of the ammunition is a juvenile."
..... Handful of states do more. Connecticut, Illinois, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island and Washington, D.C., you can legally buy annunciation only in person at licensed dealers with an ID.
..... Everytown says those simple requirements can save lives.
..... They noted that some top retailers including Cabela's and Brownells, already have a system set up to require identification to purchase ammunition at their stores - but have no such requirement Online.
..... Underage purchasers lying on age affirmations is no different from suing fake IDs at liquor stores, said Aiden Johnston, director of federal affairs at the Gun Owners of America. "The federal government made these age standards, the stores are obligated to follow the law, but I don't think there's additions responsibility to go above and beyond that," Johnston said. "No law is going to prevent a determined criminal from committing a primal act."
..... But the issue is particularly painful for survivors of gun violence tied to underage shooters. Everytown points to the Santa Fe High School shooter in Texas who killed 10 classmates and teachers and injured 13 in 2018. Two weeks after the Parkland shooting n Florida, the 17-year-old Texan logged on to LuckyGunner.com and used his won name and a prepaid gift card to buy dozens of shotgun shells and .38 special hollow-point ammunition. It was swiftly delivered to his home via FedEX.
..... Families of the Santa Fa shooting victims sued Lucky Gunner in a case that was ultimately denied an appeal to the Texas Supreme Court and was settled last year [2023] in private.
..... Lucky Gunner representative said in a post after the settlement that they had changed there age verification system in 2019 to ensure purchasers were of age. today the site still does not require photo identification, and the company did not respond to questions from USA Today about how it verifies age.
..... An attorney for Lucky Gunner wrote in a 2020 filing in the Texas suit that "creating a duty to verify (age) or inquire from whole cloth would fundamentally alter federal policy, but also force changes in business practices across the nation as the vast majority of states do not recognize such a preexisting duty."
..... Everytown selected a swath of well known Online retailers for its inquiry chaser who was over 21 and lives in a state without additional ammunition regulations. he clicked through boxes attesting to his age but never uploaded identification. Everytown representatives said they plan to turn over the ammunition to local police.
..... Here's what they found when purchasing the same box of .223 Remington ammunition typically used in a Ar-15-style rifle:

* BH Ammo: Required buyer to check a box to affirm they were 21 and legally allowed to own the ammo. No proof of age required. The ammunition was delivered eight days later.

* Brownells: Required buyers to view a pop-up with information about the law. No Proof of age required. Delivered three days later.

* Firearm Depot: did not ask questions about customers; age. Delivered a week later.

* Global Ordnance: Required buyers to click a box agreeing to terms and conditions that said they would need to provide an adult signature upon delivery. Delivered six day latter with no identification required at delivery.

* Guns.com: Asked buyers if they were 18 to enter the site, then to click a box to purchase. Delivered the day after purchase.

* Outdoor Limited: Asked if purchasers were 18 or 21; no requirement to prove age. Deliver 11 days later.

* Palmetto State Armory: Asked if customers were 18 to enter the site. no requirement. delivered six days after purchase.
..... None of the seven Online retailers respond to repeated requests for comment from USA today.
..... "The check-boxes don't fly in other prohibited items and they shouldn't fly here," Everytown's Wagner said. "Why would they fight this? We can fight over what guns people can and can't have, but young people obtaining ammunition so easily is troubling."
..... Some users on popular sites like AR15.com and Reddit say buyers should just follow the law and sue their ID to prove their age. Others are fearful of government registries and erosion of Second Amendment rights.
..... That's the biggest issue for Johnston and Gun Owners of America.
..... "This is a constitutional right to purchase and own ammunition and you don;t need the government's permission to exercise that right," Johnson said. "There other issue is privacy. Gun owners are private and don;t want a list of people who have exercise their rights."
..... Johnston said focusing on ammunition is faulty because firearms are more heavily regulated and they are required to fire the ammunition.

HOME