Nothing remotely insane about this, no siree.

Source: New York Times

A Texas-based company has started making vending machines for gun ammunition, arguing that this is the safest way to sell it.

The company, American Rounds, has already had six of those machines installed at grocery stores in Texas, Alabama and Oklahoma. Two more are set to be installed by the end of the month in Texas and Colorado, said Grant Magers, the chief executive of American Rounds.

“Our ammo is not accessible sitting on a shelf, and we are the only company that absolutely, 100 percent requires an I.D. verification,” Mr. Magers said. He also noted that most customers purchased only one or two boxes of rounds.

Gun control advocates said that ammunition should not be so easily accessible and that the problems that the vending machine’s makers claim to combat — including ammunition theft from stores and underage ammunition purchases — would be better addressed through stricter regulations.

To use the vending machines, customers follow a touch screen and select from a menu whether they want rounds for a handgun, rifle or shotgun, and then choose which specific type of ammunition they would like. Once a buyer has selected what they want, they put their ID card in a scanner and then a camera on the machine takes pictures of their face to validate their identity and show that they are at least 21. Mr. Magers said that customer data was not stored, shared or sold. Ammunition can be purchased only with a card; the kiosk does not accept cash.

Mr. Magers said that this was the most secure way to sell ammunition. “We are pro-Second Amendment, but we are also very much in favor and in support of responsible gun owners,” Mr. Magers said.