First age discrimination lawsuits on rifles filed

Dick's Sporting Goods' Field & Stream stores face lawsuits on rifle age discrimination. Contributed photo

The first lawsuits have been filed as a result of recent age restrictions on long gun buyers by certain retailers. 

According to the Outdoorhub site, a teenager in Michigan is now hauling Dick’s Sporting Goods to court for refusing to sell him a rifle after the company autonomously changed its policy in the aftermath of the Parkland school shooting massacre.

The retail chain announced last week that it would be increasing the age limit from 18 to 21-years-old to buy firearms at any of its stores, and is now beginning to see push-back from legal gun buyers.

The latest legislation to be filed, came after an 18-year-old high school senior from Battle Creek, Michigan, Triston Fulton, who walked into a Dick’s store at Oakland Mall in Troy, and was refused to even look at a rifle. According to Fox 2 Detroit, a Dick’s employee told Triston that was the new policy.

“Dick’s corporate policy is not to sell to anyone under 21 years of age, even though Michigan allows for anyone over 18 to purchase a firearm,” said Fulton’s attorney James Makowski.

Triston Fulton is protected under Michigan’s Elliot Larson law, which states is “an act to define civil rights; to prohibit discriminatory practices, policies, and customs in the exercise of those rights based upon religion, race, color, national origin, AGE, sex, height, weight, familial status, or marital status”

Also reported by the Outdoorhub is that a 20-year-old from  Oregon is dragging DICK’S Sporting Goods and Walmart into court after both major sporting goods stores refused to sell him a rifle due to his age.

The plaintiff, Tyler Watson, is claiming “Unlawful Age Discrimination,” and his case might actually hold water, says the Hub.

They repot that according to Willamette Week, Oregon law says as long as an individual is an adult, they cannot be refused something based on age that’s readily available to other adults.
A retired judge in Oregon, Jim Hargreaves, breaks it down further:

“They [sellers] can’t set their own age limit because the statute has already done that. They don’t have any authority because the statute specifically says you can’t as a merchant discriminate against either young people or old people. If you’re selling something you have to sell it to anyone who is entitled to buy it by law.“

The lawsuit claims Mr. Watson attempted to purchase a .22 caliber Ruger rifle from Field & Stream, a Dick’s owned store in Medford, Oregon, but was refused. Watson then traveled to a Walmart in Grants Pass, Oregon, a few days later to buy the gun, but again was turned away.
This is believed to be the first pieces of legal litigation filed over the new gun restrictions enacted February 28. 

NEW BORE STICKS UPCOMING

A few weeks ago we reported on the reusable, washable, gun cleaning Bore-sticks for cleaning 9mm handgun bores. Bore-sticks replace cleaning rod-jag-and patches for handgun bores, and for maintaining hard to reach areas. 

Well since they’re introduction, there’s been a clamor by gun owners for other calibers. So the company listened and have just introduced Bore-sticks for .22cal., .40cal and .45cal handguns. 

Bore-sticks are the invention by Super Brush, a leader in Foam Swab Technology headquartered in Springfield, MS. The company is the leader, according to Pam Hartog, Bore-sticks account manager, in providing foam applicator solutions for industrial, medical, aerospace and printing organizations. Their swabs are popular for cleaning computer printer heads as they are lint free and reusable. 

After using a Bore-stick to clean your handgun, it can be washed with soap or mineral spirits and after air drying, can be reused again. 

The new additions will be available in a week and can be ordered from the company’s website (www.swab-its.com), and will eventually be available at retailers, like the ones I’ve seen on Walmart store shelves in their sporting goods department. 
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