LaGree’s Food Stores, a southern Colorado-based grocery store chain, plans to install computerized vending machines to sell ammunition in its stores in Buena Vista, Poncha Springs and Pueblo County.
American Rounds will own and operate the automated retail ammunition dispensers, LaGree’s Food Stores said in a social media post. The Texas-based company has installed its kiosks in Alabama, Oklahoma and Texas.
The kiosks use AI technology, card scanners and facial recognition to verify the buyer’s identity and age. Purchasers will need to be at least 21 years old.
“As a family, we are Pro Second Amendment but we are also for responsible gun ownership,” Orin LaGree said in the written statement. “We believe the technology in these machines will help keep ammo out of the wrong hands.”
According to previous reporting from AP, gun control “advocates worry that selling bullets out of vending machines will lead to more shootings in the U.S., where gun violence killed at least 33 people on Independence Day alone.”
No date was given for when the vending machines will be installed and ready for public use.
