American Rounds/AP
A vending machine selling ammunition is depicted.
CNN
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Ammunition vending machines are being installed in grocery stores in Alabama, Texas and Oklahoma, a move that has drawn mixed feelings from officials in those states.
American Rounds, the company that sells the machine, uses AI technology to scan customers’ ID cards and facial recognition software to verify their identity, according to the company’s website.
The software works together to verify the purchaser’s age and ensure the person using the machine matches the scanned ID.
According to American Rounds, each machine sells ammunition for a variety of calibers of firearms, including rifles, shotguns and handguns.
American Rounds CEO Grant Magers said a local grocery store approached him about using the company’s technology to sell ammunition in the spring of 2023. The company rolled out its first dispensers in Alabama last November.
“It’s not that different from starting any other business,” Magers says.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) authorizes these machines, saying in a statement to CNN: “A federal license is not required to sell ammunition. However, commercial sales of ammunition must comply with state and applicable federal laws.”
The Oklahoma Attorney General’s Office told CNN that “after reviewing state law, it appears these vending machines are legal.”
CNN reached out to the attorneys general of Alabama and Texas to confirm the legality of the dispensers in their states.
Earlier this month, an ammunition supply unit in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, was removed and relocated by American Round.
“We made the decision to relocate the vending machine because we weren’t seeing the sales we expected at that location compared to our other locations,” Magers said.
“It could end up in the hands of irresponsible people. I don’t see the need for it,” Tuscaloosa City Councilman Kip Tyner told CNN.
“If there’s an argument and someone gets mad at someone, instead of calming down and going to the store the next day, they might go to the grocery store and buy ammunition and end up using it for the wrong purpose,” Tyner said.
American Rounds has already received offers from stores in California, Florida and Hawaii, with plans to expand into more states, Magers said, and the company plans to open two more dispensers in Texas and Colorado in the coming weeks.
