Walmart refuses to sell shotgun to woman

[nhboy]

Link to original article.

"Shooting as a pastime is getting more and more popular every day. Gun sales are up, more people than ever before are getting their concealed-carry permits and as a whole, guns are becoming mainstream.

This is especially true with women, who are leading the curve as the fastest-growing segment of the market. But we still get reports of stories like this one, about Prayse Dangler, who was prohibited to buy a shotgun by her local Walmart staff—because a Mossberg 930 was too much gun for a woman.

"Yesterday at Walmart I tried to buy a shotgun to keep at the house with me when Brad is gone. We live in the heart of downtown New Albany where there is a lot of foot traffic, and we believe that me having a reliable way to protect myself and our baby when Brad isn't here is just a responsible thing to do.

"Here's the kicker though. The man behind the counter looked at me in disbelief when I pointed out the beefy Mossberg 930 Tactical weapon that Brad had researched out for me and planned on taking me out shooting to get comfortable with.

The man then proceeded to interrogate me about what I wanted it for and how it would be used. He said that I didn't hold it right and that I needed 'something else better suited to you.' He put it back in the case and firmly refused to sell it—all because I am a petite young woman!

"He threatened me with the FBI and accused me of purchasing the gun for 'someone else'—namely my husband who was with me.

My husband informed him that IF he was the one that would be primarily using the gun then he would have bought it himself but it was going to be mine to keep with us and practice with, so we wanted it in my name…"

 

[PJumper]

Link to original article.

"Shooting as a pastime is getting more and more popular every day. Gun sales are up, more people than ever before are getting their concealed-carry permits and as a whole, guns are becoming mainstream.

This is especially true with women, who are leading the curve as the fastest-growing segment of the market. But we still get reports of stories like this one, about Prayse Dangler, who was prohibited to buy a shotgun by her local Walmart staff—because a Mossberg 930 was too much gun for a woman.

"Yesterday at Walmart I tried to buy a shotgun to keep at the house with me when Brad is gone. We live in the heart of downtown New Albany where there is a lot of foot traffic, and we believe that me having a reliable way to protect myself and our baby when Brad isn't here is just a responsible thing to do.

"Here's the kicker though. The man behind the counter looked at me in disbelief when I pointed out the beefy Mossberg 930 Tactical weapon that Brad had researched out for me and planned on taking me out shooting to get comfortable with.

The man then proceeded to interrogate me about what I wanted it for and how it would be used. He said that I didn't hold it right and that I needed 'something else better suited to you.' He put it back in the case and firmly refused to sell it—all because I am a petite young woman!

"He threatened me with the FBI and accused me of purchasing the gun for 'someone else'—namely my husband who was with me.

My husband informed him that IF he was the one that would be primarily using the gun then he would have bought it himself but it was going to be mine to keep with us and practice with, so we wanted it in my name…"

I would say that the sales associate probably sense something terribly wrong about the whole thing to act like that. My guess would be that the husband has a record that he can't buy the gun himself, thus using the wife as an alibi.

I just googled the gun and I tend to agree with the guy behind the counter. This is no gun for petite woman. A petite woman's hand won't fit well with the hand grip, plus if you just want to use it to protect you at home, why would you want something that's 39.5 inches long?

 

[edinsomd]

Easy answer? Don't buy guns from the Wal-Martians. Most of the slack-jawed idiots behind the ammo counter don't know .22 from .300 WinMag. One fat purple-haired nose ringer, I think it was female, once told me flat out rifles were not legal to use to hunt deer in the entire state of Maryland. I then asked her (?) if there were any deer hooks for my fly rod in stock. The blank look I got was precious.

Go to your local sporting goods store and talk to the old guy- he'll set you straight, every time.

 

[Baja28]

She now has a viable lawsuit and should pursue it.

 

[protectmd]

This doesn't shock me that walmart is participating in the police state too.

So by what this sales associate has said and by what some people believe in this article, you think because of a womans size, she can't handle a shotgun weapon? What about small petite women in the military who often shoot and qualify with shotguns? How about small petite police officers who are women who shoot and qualify with shotguns? Most asian men and women who are often smaller on the scale of humans often have formidible militarys who carry guns that are equal to or rival the shotgun being sold in the case at walmart. Furthermore, most guns have reduced recoil and are easier to handle by someone nowadays -after all, old school guns had a hell of a kick.

To infringe on the persons second amendment right by refusing to sell someone an item based on their gender and size is wrong. It doesn't shock me that walmart intends to wipe their ass with the constitution. The worst part is this guy didn't even let her fill out the gun paperwork, run her through a background check, and if he thought it was a straw purchase, bring his concern up to the state police doing the NCIC check.

Walmart only got into the gun business to put mom and pops gun stores out of business. But now that most walmarts quit selling guns and ammo, the small gun stores are opening back up again. Walmart wasn't able to shut them down fully especially with the fact that they don't want to sell handguns. So walmart, you lose.

Then there's the part where the guy threatens to call the FBI? Was that apart of his training? Its sad the ACLU doesn't stand up for peoples 2A rights.

 

[Merlin99]

She now has a viable lawsuit and should pursue it.

I'm not sure that they are required to sell anything to anyone if they don't want.

 

[protectmd]

"Suspicious" is the key word in the whole thing.

Is a person who's black and has dreads suspicious?
Is a person who's white wearing a "tea party" teeshirt suspicious?
If I go into a gun store wearing an ozzy osbourne teeshirt or a lil wayne teeshirt is that suspicious?
Maybe an american wearing a turban on his head shouldn't own a firearm so I guess walmart wont sell to him either?
And next week, the guy behind the counter isn't going to sell ammo to catholics, protestants and mormons.
You can see where this is going....

In this case a woman purchasing a gun is suspicious. If there was an issue, he should have called the police if he was that "concerned." How would that sound on the phone with dispatch. A woman trying to purchase a gun legally that she intends to use as her own firearm is suspicious.

There are already protections in place to keep criminals from purchasing guns. A criminal isn't going to go into walmart and attempt to purchase a gun legally. This guy clearly had an issue. He took on the role of the police here. He wanted to feel like the big man behind the counter, making his minimum wage telling some woman to shove it. That's what this is about. He wanted to be the guy to decides who gets guns and who doesn't, he doesn't want to leave it up to the laws, rules, constitution to determine who is armed and who isn't. The future of gun purchases in Walmart.

 

[protectmd]

I highly doubt that. For several reasons. If she was doing criminal activity, the last thing she would do is run to the news media. Her own words would be enough for conspiracy charges right there.

I really think the guy behind the counter was simply acting like a tool as usual. He was probably wearing one of those fishing vests, some boots and a camoflage hat with a walmart tag. The know it all, probably has personal beliefs that a womans place is in a kitchen and things like firearms were built for men. This slack jawed yokel thought he could say and do whatever he pleased to this customer. This is a clear case of discrimination against a woman because she's a woman.

Worst of all, he wasn't thinking ahead enough to save his own skin. He probably figured that she would never complain, or nothing would come of it. Now, walmart doesn't have a leg to stand on. Theyve opened themselves up for a lawsuit and will probably end up paying out more than this clown employees yearly salary, enough for the plaintiff to purchase many of shotguns which I have no doubt she will. Im sure the walmart store is the target of prank calls, nasty reporters, threatening womens rights activists and other crazies who often make calls to establishments who discriminate.

Lastly. A straw purchase is purchasing a gun for someone else, and giving it to them so they can avoid the process. People straw purchase in america all the time. They do it when they purchase that 22 rifle or 410 shotgun for their 15 year old son. They do it when they buy a handgun and lie on the paperwork for their girlfriend/wife or daughter and sign her up for that concealed carry class. These are examples of what I would consider a common sense straw purchase.

A straw purchase that I would consider illegal, is the one guy who walks in smelling like liquor and weed trying to buy ammo and a gun for some clown he's talking to on a cellphone. Another illegal example is some girl who doesn't even want a gun walking in and purchasing a gun for her 5 time felon boyfriend and has never owned/fired a gun, has no interest in guns herself, but doing it because she loves mookie. She's the girl in the gunshop on the phone with mookie filling out paperwork and talking on the phone with a list in her hand written by him. Other suspicious purchases I've seen have been, a guy who reeked of marijuana trying to purchase a holster and whips out a washington dc drivers license when the gun ban was still in effect. Those are the ones people should worry about. Not some lady who researched a gun and wanted to purchase it for her personal use.

 

[aps45819]

This doesn't shock me that walmart is participating in the police state What about small petite women in the military who often shoot and qualify with shotguns? How about small petite police officers who are women who shoot and qualify with shotguns?

They lowered the standards to be politically correct

"maybe an american wearing a turban on his head shouldn't own a firearm so I guess walmart wont sell to him either?

A gun is OK but they can't buy fertilizer

 

[MMDad]

"Suspicious" is the key word in the whole thing.

If people weren't so scared of offending someone they might act on their suspicions instead of cowering in fear and letting terrorists fly airplanes into buildings.

There's always two sides to the story, and we're only hearing one side now. I'd bet there was something shady about how they were acting, or some other reason the guy didn't feel right about the purchase.

If this guy had sold it, then the next day the husband had gone out and killed a bunch of people, you'd probably be the first one whining that if the clerk was suspicious he shouldn't have sold it.

 

[Rubio1]

If people weren't so scared of offending someone they might act on their suspicions instead of cowering in fear and letting terrorists fly airplanes into buildings.

There's always two sides to the story, and we're only hearing one side now. I'd bet there was something shady about how they were acting, or some other reason the guy didn't feel right about the purchase.

If this guy had sold it, then the next day the husband had gone out and killed a bunch of people, you'd probably be the first one whining that if the clerk was suspicious he shouldn't have sold it.

He is so smart! That MMDad!

 

[Bay_Kat]

What's with all the man crushes lately?

 

[MMDad]

What's with all the man crushes lately?

Tommy has always had a man crush on me. He gets drunk and follows me around. It's amazing - he's more than 400 miles away, yet I've been living rent free inside his head for years. Can you imagine having such a pitiful life?

 

[Merlin99]

I highly doubt that. For several reasons. If she was doing criminal activity, the last thing she would do is run to the news media. Her own words would be enough for conspiracy charges right there.

I really think the guy behind the counter was simply acting like a tool as usual. He was probably wearing one of those fishing vests, some boots and a camoflage hat with a walmart tag. The know it all, probably has personal beliefs that a womans place is in a kitchen and things like firearms were built for men. This slack jawed yokel thought he could say and do whatever he pleased to this customer. This is a clear case of discrimination against a woman because she's a woman.

Worst of all, he wasn't thinking ahead enough to save his own skin. He probably figured that she would never complain, or nothing would come of it. Now, walmart doesn't have a leg to stand on. Theyve opened themselves up for a lawsuit and will probably end up paying out more than this clown employees yearly salary, enough for the plaintiff to purchase many of shotguns which I have no doubt she will. Im sure the walmart store is the target of prank calls, nasty reporters, threatening womens rights activists and other crazies who often make calls to establishments who discriminate.

Lastly. A straw purchase is purchasing a gun for someone else, and giving it to them so they can avoid the process. People straw purchase in america all the time. They do it when they purchase that 22 rifle or 410 shotgun for their 15 year old son. They do it when they buy a handgun and lie on the paperwork for their girlfriend/wife or daughter and sign her up for that concealed carry class. These are examples of what I would consider a common sense straw purchase.

A straw purchase that I would consider illegal, is the one guy who walks in smelling like liquor and weed trying to buy ammo and a gun for some clown he's talking to on a cellphone. Another illegal example is some girl who doesn't even want a gun walking in and purchasing a gun for her 5 time felon boyfriend and has never owned/fired a gun, has no interest in guns herself, but doing it because she loves mookie. She's the girl in the gunshop on the phone with mookie filling out paperwork and talking on the phone with a list in her hand written by him. Other suspicious purchases I've seen have been, a guy who reeked of marijuana trying to purchase a holster and whips out a washington dc drivers license when the gun ban was still in effect. Those are the ones people should worry about. Not some lady who researched a gun and wanted to purchase it for her personal use.

What did they do that has opened them up to legal action? Is there a law that says that if someone wants to buy something you're obligated to sell it to them? They may have some marketing issues, but I don't see any legal ones.

 

[gemma_rae]

Tommy has always had a man crush on me. He gets drunk and follows me around. It's amazing - he's more than 400 miles away, yet I've been living rent free inside his head for years. Can you imagine having such a pitiful life?

Yours or his?

 

[protectmd]

The part that opened them up to the lawsuit is not the fact that he didn't sell the weapon. Its how he articulated it to her. Not selling someone a weapon because they can't handle it is a sad excuse. It can be said that the fact the store has no comment further adds to the poor media relations they have and puts them in a bad light.

If this guy was so concerned about the fact that it was a straw purchase he should have called the cops and articulated his suspicions to them, especially if his end goal was to prevent her from purchasing a weapon. He'd have to come up with a better excuse than she's a woman trying to purchase a shotgun.

The military did not lower their standards. They simply accomodated the needs of todays battlefield. Having 6 male foot goons reaching down a womans bra and up her panties to conduct personal searches is just a quick way for them to cop a feel. Its alot better for women to search enemies... hence why we have women who work with MP's and are embedded in infantry units that deal with the women they come across. This is why we have women police officers as well. I doubt you want a male officer searching your wife running his hands all over her female areas.

I don't think that going on a hunch or being politically correct has failed our security measures in this country. I wouldn't call it political correctness. Polical correctness is calling a person african american verses calling them black. Hunches even have to be articulated by police when conducting official business. Stopping someone for driving with 3 different races in a vehicle in a open air drug market would be a hunch, but stopping them for an equipment violation is a proper stop. If someone wants to do something bad enough, not much will stop them from doing evil.

In this case, it was poorly handled. While salespersons of guns are the first line of defense against evil criminal elements attempting to purchase firearms, I think if their true concern is to stop the person from making a purchase, they would notify authorities. See something, say something is the motto right? It allows authorities to make the determination of whether they are legit or another attempt by criminals to get guns. It protects your business from discrimination lawsuits. Yes businesses have the right to refuse service to say a disorderly customer, however, if they tell you im not going to sell you this gun because your black or your a woman, that would be discrimination.

Im not denying the fact that we live in a violent society. I think that if businesses see things they should call them in, so the information can be analyzed and authorities can make the determination of whether a person is out to do harm or not. That gun salesperson did everyone a disservice if let's say next week she did get a shotgun and shot a whole bunch of people at random. He'd be the clown on the news saying yea, I told her no, I thought she was a criminal, but did nothing. Turning a blind eye to criminal behavior is simply encouraging it.

 

[bohman]

I'd love to see Walmart's official policy/training for this situation. They have to give their salespeople some way to refuse suspicious buyers, but I'm guessing this guy didn't follow policy and decided to wing it. He probably assumed that he was correct, and that he didn't need to document anything or play by the rules.

 

[migtig]

My perspective, as a "petite" female I've received the bias at the gun counter myself. Chain store or mom-n-pop, it really doesn't make a difference. And I don't think it's so much that I'm petite, but more that I'm female. Sexism is alive and well. However, if they annoy me, I take my business elsewhere and write a nice letter to management. If it's minor, I tweak them back. I really like to smile, ramp up the accent, and let them dig a hole. It's my favorite game. Eventually I let them know they've dug a hole and then they feel like idiots. However, as the article mentioned, more and more women are taking to guns and these businesses need to make sure they aren't alienating future repeat customers.

I do want to say not all gun stores I've been to are like this. In our area, I'll say that when I walked into Accurate Guns and Ammo, he didn't even seem to notice that I was dressed all in pink and let me handle a Judge Taurus to see if I liked it. Which I didn't because it was too big for me. But he allowed me to make my own decision.

 

[nhboy]

It's a good thing that women are able to legally buy any gun they want. I also think it a good idea if they would consider having a small tattoo of an NRA life member logo placed discretely between the breasts just as a small reminder that no means no.

 

[czygvtwkr]

He should have directed her to the isle with the pots and pans, kidding just kidding.