Some grocery stores in Oklahoma, Texas and Alabama have vending machines that dispense ammunition. Some say it’s a safer way to sell, while others say they send the wrong message.
Host Juana Summers:
Now to Oklahoma, where shoppers at several grocery stores can also buy shotgun shells and bullets from their products. There are vending machines dispensing ammunition in stores across the state, as well as in Alabama and Texas. Member Station KOSU’s Anna Pope visited one of the stores in Noble, Oklahoma, to find out what some shoppers think about ammo machines and what it means for gun safety.
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ANNA POPE, BYLINE: When you walk into Super C Mart, the first thing you see is produce. People keep track of their shopping lists while pushing shopping carts. There’s a tall vending machine with an electronic screen next to a five-gallon jug near the door. This is where people can get ammunition. Jim Barnes comes here often. He just bought some groceries.
Jim Barnes: They have the best produce, vegetables. They got the best meat in town.
POPE: He hunts deer and turkey. He hasn’t used the machine yet but likes its convenience.
BARNES: If I go hunting and don’t have something I need, I can get it there.
POPE: The machine has an AI-powered scanner that matches IDs to faces. They must be 21 or older to purchase bullets. Noble is a city of approximately 7,000 people. Shopper Tina Laws, who loves Super C Mart, said she doesn’t use ammo machines but thinks it’s a good idea in rural areas.
Tina Rouse: I mean, we’re in the country. A lot of people need guns for a lot of different things. Why are you looking for ammo everywhere? come on.
POPE: American Rounds, the company behind computerized vending machines, says it plans to expand beyond six stores so far. Mar Miller had just finished shopping and he didn’t like the machine.
Mal Miller: You know, I’m a huge supporter of gun control. There are too many school shootings.
POPE: American Rounds says its machines are a safer way to obtain ammunition thanks to artificial intelligence verification technology. But Miller said he doesn’t fully trust artificial intelligence and would rather gun owners buy ammunition from people.
MILLER: So if they look, you know — who knows? – Adjusted or crazy, I mean, it’s something you can judge a person better than a computer.
POPE: Bullet machines have been around for a while, but recently they’ve been making national news. In Tuscaloosa, Alabama, a city council leader asked about ammunition dispensers at a meeting last week. It was pulled from a grocery store there shortly after, but American Rounds said that was due to lack of sales, not an issue with the city council. It’s unclear how much money the Super C Mart’s ammo machine makes, but it’s clear customers flock to the store to buy meat and vegetables. For NPR News, I’m Anna Pope in Noble, Oklahoma.
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