« Amen to that! | Main | Interesting cartoon.... »
State age discrimination law and firearm sales
Posted by David Hardy · 15 March 2018 10:59 AM
There have been "virtue signaling" moves by some retailers to cut off rifle sales to persons aged 18-21, although federal law permits long arm sales to them. The federal age discrimination statutes, I think, don't cover retail sales or discrimination against the young. NSSF, however, reminds us that many states have age discrimination statutes that may.
2 Comments | Leave a comment
On "it can't be both ways."
I tend to believe that a business should be able to discriminate however it pleases. And I may promote that view. But society has chosen a different path. I may then demand that they follow the rules they've established.
I see the arguments that are going to be used by the retailers.
1. First is the one used by florists and bakers who don't want to provide goods and services for gay weddings. Conservatives are going to have to make up their mind which way they want it. It can't be both ways; "You have to sell guns but you don't have to sell cakes."
2. Age discrimination vs. sexual preference discrimination: that's a wash. It would be really hard in 2018 to say that retailers can discriminate on the basis of sexual preference and not on the basis of age.
3. And then there's the fact that 18 year olds are already prohibited from buying handguns from an FFL. Whatever rationale was used to pass that part of the law, will be used to justify not selling long arms.
In the meantime, if 2nd Amendment advocates go all in trying to maintain the 18 year old limit for long arms, they will be tagged as promoting massacres such as Columbine and Parkland. This is politics, like it or not, and getting tarred with that brush will have consequences on down the line.