CNN
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Now, grocery stores in Alabama, Texas and Oklahoma will have vending machines selling ammunition — a move that has generated mixed reactions from officials in those states.
The distributor of the machines, American Rounds, uses AI technology to scan customers’ identification, as well as facial recognition software to verify a customer’s identity, according to the company’s website.
The software works together to confirm the age of the buyer and match the scanned identity with the identity of the person using the machine.
According to American Rounds, each machine sells ammunition for a variety of firearm calibers, including rifles, shotguns and handguns.
Grant Magers, CEO of American Rounds, said local grocery stores have approached him about using his technology to sell ammunition in the spring of 2023. The company rolled out its first dispenser in Alabama last November.
“It’s not much different than starting any other business,” Magers said.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) has approved the machines, telling CNN in a statement: “A federal license is not required to sell ammunition. However, commercial sales of ammunition must comply with state laws as well as any applicable federal laws.”
The Oklahoma Attorney General’s office told CNN that “a review of state laws indicates these vending machines appear to be legal.”
CNN has contacted the attorneys general of Alabama and Texas to confirm the legality of the dispensers in their respective states.
Earlier this month, an ammunition dispenser in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, was removed and relocated by American Rounds.
“As a business we … made the decision to move that machine because we weren’t getting the sales we expected at that location compared to other locations,” Magers said.
Tuscaloosa City Council member Kip Tyner told CNN: “It’s getting into the hands of people who aren’t as responsible. I don’t see it as a need.”
“There could be an argument, and somebody could be angry at somebody else, and instead of calming down and going to the store the next day, they could go to the grocery store to get ammunition and use it for the wrong reasons,” Tyner said.
Magers said American Rounds plans to expand to more states, having already received offers from stores in California, Florida and Hawaii. He said the company is setting up two more dispensers in Texas and Colorado in the next few weeks.
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