Washington (August 21, 2024) - Amidst an epidemic of gun violence in the United States, Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) today led a letter with Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) to Steven Dettlebach, Director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), urging it to closely examine vending machines equipped with facial recognition that sell ammunition and their place in the federal gun safety regulatory gun scheme. Purchasers need only provide identification and have their identity verified by a facial recognition scan. The placement of automated ammunition vending machines in supermarkets, and the prospect of their expansion to other general retailers, raises serious concerns about the availability of ammunition to prohibited purchasers under federal gun safety statutes.
The lawmakers wrote, “As our nation continues to grapple with an epidemic of gun violence, these machines threaten to make ammunition more widely available and accessible in our communities, especially to prohibited individuals and those who pose a threat to public safety. The machines also use often unreliable and inaccurate facial recognition technology for identity verification. And there are inherent risks in stocking large amounts of combustible ammunition at grocery stores. We urge the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) to closely examine these automated ammunition vending machines and their place in the federal gun safety regulatory scheme, and use the full extent of the Bureau’s authority to prohibit them in supermarkets, grocery stores, and other general retailers frequented by people of all ages and walks of life.”
The lawmakers ask the Bureau to respond to the following questions:
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