GUN VIOLENCE
On the Grocery List: Bread and Bullets
Vending-machine purchases make violence even more accessible
We don’t need more examples of how entrenched this country is into gun culture. But here’s the latest: Bullets sold through vending machines — in grocery stores.
The distributor, American Rounds, has installed a handful of machines in stores in Alabama, Texas and Oklahoma. Customer ID is scanned using facial recognition software. But there are no checks into criminal or mental-health or domestic-violence backgrounds.
“We are very pro-Second Amendment, but we are for responsible gun ownership, and we hope we’re improving the environment for the community,” company CEO Grant Magers told the Associated Press. More stores in other states have expressed interest, he said.
“How is that any different than Walmart?” said Lowe’s Market CEO Alan Buxkemper, who has a machine in a Texas store and plans to install another at a second store. The machines, defenders say, provide more oversight than online purchasing which often does not require proof of age.
But having more ways for buyers to avoid scrutiny and accountabilty makes little sense, if there is any real intention to reduce gun violence. In recent years, mass shootings have even…
