(NY) Walmart Clerk demands to see my Pistol license to sell me 9MM

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This happened Saturday morning. I went to my Walmart to purchase some WWB 9MM. When I asked the clerk for it, the smirking 18-yo kid said "I need to see your pistol license".
When asked why, he said it was the store policy on all handgun ammo purchases.

I was not happy.

I flashed it at him, too fast for him to read it, but fast enough that he knew what it was. I asked him "What if I had a 9MM carbine?" he didn't understand the question. I was in a hurry so I paid and left.

I am going to be following up with a manager of the store. I am looking for any ideas you guys have on valid points why they should change their policy.

Please no "If you don't like it, don't shop there. . ." I WANT to shop there, but I ALSO want to present some rational reasons why they should change the policy.

My ideas so far:
- The obvious 9MM carbine angle
- MYOB :fire:
- Walmart's Liability by enacting a policy that enables unscrupulous Walmart employees to amass a list of addresses of gun owners

If you have any points to add as to why this is a bad policy for WalMart to have, please add here.


Note:
- This will NOT be a walmart-bashing thread, or a NY bashing thread for that matter
 
Actually, they have to enter into the register that they saw the permit at Walmart here in NY. If you watch the display , you'll see it say "permit req'd" and they have to hit something to bypass it. In fact , Ive had to show my permit at Walmart , Dicks, and Gander Mountain to buy pistol ammo. It's hardly uncommon practice.
 
Perhaps they are concerned about being tripped up by some stipulation in State law?

Aside from that, Federal Law requires them the be satisfied that if the ammunition is being purchased by a person over the age of 18 but younger than 21, it is for use in a long gun and not a handgun. If it is for use in a handgun, the purchaser must be 21 years of age.

I have been told at gun shops that "...its the law..." when in reality, it was the store owner's policy.

Speak to the store manager. Write to corporate headquarters. Shop online. Buy from a Mom and Pop gun store.
 
Walmart checks ID for age reasons but they have never asked me for my CCW permit.
 
Pistol license? :confused: I think I left my pistol license next to my rifle license on the chest at home.

I've never come across that one before for pistol ammunition, just "state ID" which can be your driver's license, a concealed carry, etc. I usually show my concealed handgun license just because I look like a dope on my drivers license mug :D I don't think I've ever been finicky enough to say "it's for a carbine" to bypass the ID stage.
 
Actually, they have to enter into the register that they saw the permit at Walmart here in NY. If you watch the display , you'll see it say "permit req'd" and they have to hit something to bypass it. In fact , Ive had to show my permit at Walmart , Dicks, and Gander Mountain to buy pistol ammo. It's hardly uncommon practice.
Click to expand...

Having never heard of this before, I assumed it was the policy of my local walmart only. . .

I don't have delusions of attempting to change what may be a corporate policy for the whole state.
 
Stuff like that gets me mad if I wanted the gov and dumb polices to restrict my ammo I would permanently move to Canada
 
I thought New York has a requirement that one needs a Pistol Permit in order to purchase handgun ammunition.
 
I think your fear about unscrupulous employees finding out where you live is a good angle. You don't know what kind of element this kid hangs with or what he does in his off time to supplement his minimum wage pay at wallyworld.

A driver's license should be all that's required by law. And that just to verify legal age requirements. Take it as high as district managers or higher depending on your level of patience. District managers probably don't like having the riot act read to them by an irate customer who's in the right.
 
I don't know, since I don't own a handgun, but I think, from talking with others, that NY state law requires you to present your pistol permit (not a CCW) to buy ammo for a handgun. Your points, especially about having a 9mm carbine, seem totally reasonable, though.

JOsh
 
For what it's worth, a couple of friends from the local gun club did some research, and it seems that for just about any ammo you can buy, there has been a rifle/cabine chambered in that caliber.

It is common around here (Rochester, NY) that when you buy ammo, the clerk will ask if it is for a handgun. If you say yes, they ask to see your permit (in NY you need a permit to own a handgun, and unless restricted, that permit allows you to carry concealed), but if you say no, the purchased goes through anyway (of course, I haven't looked under 21 in alot of years).

I think you'd be better off getting a written copy of the Walmart policy to understand it fully, and then just make sure all your future purchases are for rifle ammo (since all ammo can be used in rifles). You shouldn't have to show your CCW again.

The idea that some employee might make a list of handgun permit holders borders on paranoia. Do you ever use a credit card there? Or how about a medical prescription at the pharmacy? How about a hunting license? Lots of information to gather from you if they really wanted to.
 
most chain and specialty stores in nassau, suffolk, westchester and rockland county will ask to see your handgun license if you want to buy handgun ammo.

i don't know if this is a store policy or state/county law, but it the register folk don't seem to apply it consistenty. just expect it when you go in.
 
I believe that by LAW ,the only person you HAVE to show your permit to when asked is a cop(in NY)....of course they could refuse to sell you the ammo if it's Company policy.Here in the Albany area at our Wal-marts it derends on who's working the counter....the register does ask if it's for a handgun,but lots of times the clerk just pushes no,and moves on.I'd say about 25% of the time they ask me.I do buy ammo at Wal-mart once in a while,just so they'll see that is sells,and will continue to sell it.
BTW when asked if it's for a handgun I just say,no.Technically ammo doesn't care what kind of gun you put it in..as long as it fits.
Our W-M's have pretty much stopped selling guns due to poor sales,I hope the same doesn't happen w/ the ammo......and BTW why wouldn't a place called TARGET sell ammo???That's like a place called AUTOZONE not selling oil filters....:neener:
Once at Walmart I had a manager say he had to follow me to my car when I bought a case of ammo_On the way he said he guessed that if someone was going to come back and shoot up the place ,walmart brass wanted the manager to be the 1st one shot.I made him carry the case while I shopped for other stuff...next time,he ddn't bother,he just said"I know this guy,he's OK."Because in the 15 minutes we spent together he really got to know me:scrutiny:
 
Let me get this straight, you live in a state that requires you to have a pistol license but what pisses you off is a retal store asking to see it for an ammo purchase?

I would be far more concerned about the state abridging my Second Amendment rights than I would be about Wal-Mart ammo sales policies.
 
I have talked with the guys at the sporting goods desk at my local WalMart and it is store policy to ask for the Pistol Permit "whenever buying ammo that could be used in a handgun". WalMart doesn't seem to consider the T/C Contender and Encore platforms a handgun though.

I remember this being the case even as far back as the late 1990's in Brockport (near Rochester). In fact, one time I had to leave the store (I didn't have a permit at the time) so that my buddy (who did have a permit) could buy 45 ACP (at the Brockport WalMart during the late 1990's).

At my local store specifically( and maybe now a company policy), ammo must be purchased in full at the sporting goods desk due to theft losses (i.e. people had been removing the ammunition and leaving behind the empty boxes - a bunch of real jerks).
 
The problem with rules is that often (as here) they're made from the point of view of myopic, arrogant, simple-minded cretins with simple-minded views of the world, who think that their internal heuristics about reality in fact *define* reality.

Is .223 "handgun ammo"? It is if it's shot from a Kel-Tec PLR-16.

Is .357 Magnum "handgun ammo"? Not if it's shot from a Rossi Model 92 in ..357 (http://www.castbullet.com/shooting/rossi-s.htm)

(And of course, similar can be said for any so-called "handgun caliber" for which AR-style uppers exist, for .22, for giant arm-killing cartridges for which some prankster at S&W has decided to chamber a revolver ;))

Maybe you could bring in a polaroid of an SU2000 to buy 9mm, or a photo of your Thompson submachine gun to buy .45 :)

timothy
 
The last time I bought WWB 9mm at WallyWorld, I was asked for my driver's licence. My CHL was easier to pull from the wallet, so I showed that. Not good enough. Had to be the driver's licence.

This was to verify I was 21. I'm 54, so I must look really good for 54.

Tuckerdog1
 
Our local Wally worlds now ask if the ammo (.22) is for a pistol or rifle. They started doing this about 2-3 months ago. I have always answered rifle. They have been doing the age check (21 or 18) for as long as I can remember.
 
Pistol license? in NH you don't even need a special license to buy a pistol under state law, do the feds issue a pistol license? Cause I don't even think you can get one from the state of NH....
 
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