The shotguns they had in stock honestly looked pretty cool (I occasionally go to the range with my dad), so I asked to look at one of the 12-gauges on the wall. As I was examining the weapon, the lady told me it was a good choice for home defense.
I then asked if I could take a quick picture of it to help me decide, to which she replied, “Absolutely! Let me get a board for you to set it on.” By this time, I thought it was pretty surprising how I was never asked about my age, intent, or experience with firearms.
After I set the gun down to take a photo of it, the manager of the store walked up and finally asked my age. When he learned that I was 20, he simply took a shoulder stock from a cabinet and set it right beside the gun.
“Wait,” I said. “Just adding a butt to the rifle lowers the buying age from 21 to 18?”
The two sellers smiled and nodded. They then informed me that I couldn’t purchase a handgun, but I could buy a shotgun or rifle as long as it had a stock.
“Now do you want to take a look at the AR-15s?” the lady asked me.
I was taken by surprise a bit. This is the AR-15, the same weapon the gunman in Orlando used to kill 50 people; the same weapon used in the terrorist attack that occurred two days ago. It was also the weapon used in the massacres at Sandy Hook, the Aurora movie theatre, Umpqua Community College, and San Bernardino.
I never had to ask to see it, I was offered to check it out. I walked over to an employee who was no older than myself. He began to show me an AR-15 which cost $669, and told me it was popular due to the control and grip. He even told me he had one and really liked it.
...
After exchanging conversation for about five minutes, I asked, “Can I buy this today?” The seller replied, “Yeah, sure. I just need to see your driver’s license and have you fill out the paperwork.”
I gave him my license, then reached for my receipt showing I renewed it the week before. Before I even got it out of my pocket, the employee told me I was good and I just needed my vehicle registration for verification. He didn’t notice that my license had expired recently.
When I came back from my car with the vehicle registration, he was sitting at the front desk with the paperwork and weapon ready.
“Just fill this out and you’re good to go.”
