Oklahoma, Alabama Now Have AI-Powered Vending Machines That Sell Bullets

There are few regulations around ammunition purchases in the U.S., but some of the few that exist are age-based. Federal law says you have to be at least 18 years old to buy ammunition for long guns, like rifles and shotguns, and if you want to buy bullets for handguns, you have to be at least 21. As such, American Rounds has created an identity verification mechanism for its bullet vending machines that can supposedly verify how old the person buying the ammunition is.

Cleveland.com originally reported on the proliferation of American Rounds’ machines, writing that they were currently available at six locations in Oklahoma and Alabama. On Friday, a local news outlet in Alabama reported that a store in Tuscaloosa had removed one of the machines after “the legality of the machine was questioned” at a city council meeting. The city’s legal department admitted the machines were legal if they met proper zoning requirements. The store has said that it “removed the machine on July 3rd because of a lack of sales,” the outlet reported.