Last week you may remember I wrote an article about how Dicks Sporting Goods has instituted a policy of asking for someone’s citizenship status when selling ammunition. I contacted Dicks customer service regarding this issue last week and below is the response I received from the customer service person:
Hi Lucas,
Thank you for contacting DICK’S Sporting Goods.
It is always our goal to ensure our customer’s satisfaction by offering quality brand products, store services and the best customer care to all of our valued customers.
I do apologize for any inconvenience you faced when trying to purchase ammo. Federal law prohibits firearms dealers from selling firearms and ammunition to a “prohibited person” because of that we have added a prompt at checkout just for verification purposes. It was not to upset you in any way and I apologize if it did, it’s just a practice that corporate has instilled due to federal law changes.
Your feedback provides us with the opportunity to review our customer’s concerns so that any necessary improvements can be made for the future.
It is our hope that you will return to our store to experience the level of customer satisfaction that we know we are capable of delivering.
We truly appreciate your time and we value your patronage.
Thank you and best regards,
Shane
Customer Service Representative
I then attempted to inform them that just because someone is a non-citizen, does not make them a “prohibited person”, as legal resident aliens are allowed to purchase guns, as well as ammo. This is the next response I received:
Hi Lucas,
Thank you for contacting DICK’S Sporting Goods.
It is always our goal to ensure our customer’s satisfaction by offering quality brand products, store services and the best customer care to all of our valued customers.
If you want further information you can contact your local ATF office if you have concerns. It is federal law that we can only sell ammo and firearms to legal US citizens so because of that we just ask for verification of that.
Your feedback provides us with the opportunity to review our customer’s concerns so that any necessary improvements can be made for the future.
It is our hope that you will return to our store to experience the level of customer satisfaction that we know we are capable of delivering.
We truly appreciate your time and we value your patronage.
Thank you and best regards,
Shane
Customer Service Representative
Being the kind of person that I am, I went ahead and checked out the BATFE website. On this page, they list the following regarding resident aliens and firearms purchases.
- Q: May aliens legally in the United States buy firearms?
- An alien legally in the U.S. may acquire firearms if he has a State of residence. An alien has a State of residence only if he is residing in that State and has resided in a State continuously for at least 90 days prior to the purchase. An alien acquiring firearms from a licensee is required to prove both his identity, by presenting a government-issued photo identification, and his residency with substantiating documentation showing that he has resided in the State continuously for the 90-day period prior to the purchase. Examples of qualifying documentation to prove residency include: utility bills, lease agreements, credit card statements, and pay stubs from the purchaser’s place of employment, if such documents include residential addresses.See also Item 5, “Sales to Aliens in the United States,” in the General Information section of this publication.[18 U.S.C. 921, 922(b)(3), (d) and (g), 27 CFR478.11 and 478.99(a)]
- Now, firearms and ammunition are two different things, but as far as I know, there are not any laws baring legal resident aliens, who can purchase firearms legally from purchasing ammo to go with those firearms (except for rare circumstances with individuals under the age of 21 who legally possess a handgun, you guys are screwed).In my opinion, this citizenship question is poorly worded. If the wording was changed to something like “Are you legally allowed to purchase ammunition?” nobody would have a problem with it, and of course, nobody would probably answer “No” to that question either.
- I totally understand this company not wanting to sell ammo to prohibited persons. Keeping a FFL in good standing, and following all of the laws regarding the sales of firearms, and ammo must be a daunting task for a mom and pop gun shop, and to try and keep everything kosher for a large chain must be mind boggling. However, since we now know that citizenship has nothing to do with whether or not someone is a “prohibited person”, hopefully Dick’s will re-visit this issue, and maybe change the wording of the question as not to keep legal residents from purchasing firearms and ammo.
Just waiting for the day when you have to answer "Are you over 21?" at the liquor store with a yes/no prompt on the key pad. That'll teach those underage drinkers.
Winning!
Mr. Lucas,
The same thing happened to me this afternoon when I tried to purchase a box of 38 Special practice ammo from Dicks Sporting Goods in Aurora Colorado (the same Aurora with the terrible theatre shooting) – unlike you, I declined to answer the question and asked for the manager. I specifically asked the manager, Brian, if this is a new policy and if he can produce Dick’s written policy on why they are requiring customers to answer this before purchasing ammo. After about half an hour, Brian returned and apologetically reported that he was unable to find the store’s written policy on the issue at hand. Understanding that as a private company, Dicks can refuse the sales of ammo to anyone at their leisure, I politely told Brian the I am not going to answer the citizenship question; however, I still intend to purchase the box of ammo and since this is not required by law and a written policy cannot be produced, I asked if Brain can override the question and complete the sale. Brain said that without answering the question, he cannot sale me the ammo. He further stated that this was not his decision – without an input to the question, the computer (cash register) cannot proceed with the sales transaction. Considering the recent tragic events here in Aurora and else where in the country (and the product in question) I quietly walked out of the store.
After reading Dick’s formal response to your request I am in agreement with you – the question is poorly worded. At a minimum, Dicks received some very poor advice from their legal counsel or worse, this is Racial Mapping under pretense of complying with Federal Law. After reading [18 U.S.C. 922(d)], I fear that it may be the latter.
I am a strong support of the NRA and 2nd Amendment, but after the recent tragic events, I am conflicted on how to proceed with this. For the foreseeable future, I will no longer be investing my hard earned $$$ at Dicks Sporting Goods.
Full Disclosure – I am a US Citizen of Asian decent. I am also a honorably discharged veteran of the US Navy.
Thanks for commenting and sharing your experience!
I am not a lawyer, so I may be talking out of my posterior on this one, but from what I can tell with a quick google search this policy is illegal. Dicks will sell to a non-US citizen such as a green card holder as long as that person provides an alien number. If no number provided, no service. Thus, undeniably, the green card holder is treated differently than a citizen.
So, with this fact established, the question is: Can a retail establishment treat a citizen and a legal permanent resident separately? I’ve been unable to find anything indicating that they can. The courts have plainly and consistently allowed such differential treatment only in very rare cases (e.g. voting); in most matters permanent residents and citizens have equal protections and rights.
A business cannot deny service to a protected class. Nor can a business get around this denial by granting service but forcing the protected class to jump through arbitrary hoops. From what I can tell, a legal permanent resident is in a protected class (I’m not 100% positive of this, I know national origin is one, but not sure what it encompasses exactly).
In any case, I’ve just now emailed Dicks and I intend on getting a reasonable answer from them.