ID required to look at a gun?

GKC

GKC

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Have you ever had to show your ID to look at a handgun?

I was in Academy Sports tonight...I have bought maybe 15 guns there over the last couple of years, plus more than that at several gun shops...and while I have had to provide my identification when I bought a gun, I have never been asked for identification just to look at one. I had just finished looking at one gun, and the guy who was helping me (and had sold me guns before) said he was getting off, and would ask someone else to help me, if I wanted to see something else. I did, so he called this other guy over. The second guy looked like he was barely out of high school, and I had never seen him in there before (of course, that doesn't mean I know everyone who works there.) I asked him to show me a particular pistol, and he says he'll have to see my driver's license first. I automatically pulled it out and showed it to him, without thinking, and he hands me the gun...and then my brain kicked in. I asked him why he needed to see my ID...and he said it was the law! I said that was strange, that I had bought many guns, including some right there in this store, and I didn't have to show ID until I bought something. Furthermore, I didn't have to show ID to see the gun I had just looked at. He said he couldn't help that, but he knew the law and he was going to follow it, regardless of what anyone else did or didn't do, and that the law said that unless you were 21 or older, you couldn't even hold a gun. You could only look at it through the glass of the case. He said he knew this to be a fact because his neighbor who is a LEO told him so.

I told him that I knew you had to be 21 or older to BUY a handgun, but I had never heard of any age requirement to LOOK at one. Furthermore, I asked him if he really couldn't tell from looking at me that I am older than 21?

Anyway, to make a long story shorter, he continued to insist that he knew the law, and so I figured it wasn't worth arguing about any further, since I suppose there is a chance he could be correct (I am not a lawyer) or he could be confusing store policy with the law (but I've never been asked in Academy before, even 10 minutes before my encounter with him.)

I'm going to do some further checking just for my own edification, but I also wanted to know if any of you had ever encountered this? Is it actually a requirement in the law? If so, then there are a whole lot of occasions when it wasn't followed, during my "looking" phase of handgun shopping.
 
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Not sure about Texas, but Georgia is 18 to look or hold and 21 to buy.
 
I've had to give a store clerk at a pawn shop my ID while I held it. No big deal. I look way older than 21, unfortunately.
 
In Texas a person must be:
18 to purchase a long gun from a dealer or private seller.
21 to purchase a handgun from a dealer.
18 to own a handgun.

In Texas you don't need to produce an ID simply to look at a gun. This could be store policy but I doubt it.
 
I had this happen in a pawn shop a couple of weeks ago. I assumed it was that shop's policy because the other 7 or 8 pawn shops I visited that day did not require it.

Take up this question with the first guy that you talked to.
 
Last edited:
johnsonl said:
I have never heard of such a law. Sounds like the clerk went from delivering pizza to selling guns overnight. Thank goodness he knows everything, because I sure don't.
Click to expand...

Well, I usually try not to come across as a know-it-all (because I don't even know most, much less all) and I usually don't question things like that...I mean, it is very common for cashiers to ask to see your ID when using a credit card, for example, although that is for a different reason. Besides, I was just looking and not buying at the moment.

At first, I asked out of curiosity, since I had never been asked before...but his arrogant and cocky manner made me want to push back. Plus, I was sincerely wondering if this young whippersnapper really couldn't just look at me and see that I was obviously well over 21!
 
It was either Academy or Dick's that someone reported in the last year or so that when he purchased a gun, a manager had to actually carry the gun to the door as the customer was leaving before the customer could take possession.
 
redlevel said:
It was either Academy or Dick's that someone reported in the last year or so that when he purchased a gun, a manager had to actually carry the gun to the door as the customer was leaving before the customer could take possession.
Click to expand...

I don't think I posted that, but it has been my experience with every gun I have bought at Academy. The clerk fills out the paperwork, calls it in to get the approval, and then goes over the handgun safety and other boring stuff in excruciating detail...and then finally calls a manager. The manager goes over the paperwork, and then walks the gun up to the register at the front. When I have paid, sometimes the manager walks the gun to the front door and hands it to me there, and sometimes I have been given the gun at the register. I think the former is their store policy, but some of the managers have seen me buy a number of guns, so I guess they feel safe in letting me take it from the register.
 
redlevel said:
It was either Academy or Dick's that someone reported in the last year or so that when he purchased a gun, a manager had to actually carry the gun to the door as the customer was leaving before the customer could take possession.
Click to expand...

They do that at BassPro and Cabela's also.

Used to go to gun shows in Illinois, (Collinsville) and was greatly amused that a resident of Ill. had to show their FOID in order to look at a displayed firearm. Most times, just saying I was from Missouri was enough, although I did occasionally have to show my DL.
 
Eh, it's probably store policy. Dicker and Deal in Lansing used to have a sign that you had to lay your ID on the counter to see a handgun. It was another method to keep someone from trying to run out the door with one. Curiously, clean cut white guys (I used to wear a sport coat and tie as "casual") weren't really subject to the ID requirement.

Under Federal law, you have to be 18 to buy a rifle and 21 to buy a handgun. There's also a bit of Federal law that says if you are under 18, with certain exceptions, that you basically need a note from your parents to have a handgun. Note that those ages apply to sales from a Dealer. State law governs the age for private sales/possession. Some states don't set an age for possession per se.
 
GatorFarmer said:
Curiously, clean cut white guys (I used to wear a sport coat and tie as "casual") weren't really subject to the ID requirement.
Click to expand...

Maybe that's the deal...I haven't had a haircut in a while, and I am starting to look like I did back in the 60s. Actually, nothing like I did back in the 60s...more like Willie Nelson now. :eek:
 
Never heard of this. I'm 21 and I look more like 18. I've held guns at a plenty of gun and pawn shops and never been asked my age or ID. I do have to show my ID to purchase ammo.

I live in GA. 21 for handguns and ammo, 18 for long guns and ammo, 18 to "posses" a handgun. I believe you might can buy handgun ammo at 18 if you state it's for a long gun. (I've been asked if it's for a handgun or long gun when buying ammo before, could've just been the not so bright wal mart employees)
 
If you look at my DL while it is in my wallet you will see all the info you need to see except my DL# and address. My DL# and address are covered with black pin striping tape attached to the clear plastic cover my DL is behind. And yes, before anyone ask I have been the victim of identity theft. A friend that works for the USSS suggested this as an increased measure of protection from ID theft.

I bought a new Benelli Super Vinci a few months ago. Sales clerk at Dick's insisted that I GIVE him my DL before he would let me handle the SG. We had a "Discussion" about his need to retain possesion of my DL to let me handle a firearm. Finally the store manager was called and he informed his flunky that it was neither state law (TN) nor store policy that I surrender my DL to handle a firearm.

Who can guess where I did NOT buy the SG?

Class III
 
Was the clerk who looked like he was barely out of high school in the O/P, of legal age to handle/sell handguns in the State?

Sounds kind of young...

Fed Law allows persons under 21 (who are not felons) to be employed by an FFL and in doing so can handle/sell handguns
That person needs the written permission of parent(s) (who are not a felon). That written consent must be on the juveniles person at all times while working.
There must also be no State law prohibiting the juvenile from legally possessing a handgun or handgun ammunition.

Maybe the clerk is the one that should be asked for his 'papers'..
 
2152hq said:
Was the clerk who looked like he was barely out of high school in the O/P, of legal age to handle/sell handguns in the State?
Click to expand...

I dunno...it's hard to tell these days. You would think that Academy would know the law in that respect, and verify it. Like during the extensive training period they give to their sales personnel.... :rolleyes:
 
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