Oregon: 20-Year-Old Sues Kroger for Refusing to Sell Him Shotgun Shells

A 20-year-old is suing Kroger for not being allowed to purchase a shotgun shell because of his age.

In court filings possessed by Breitbart News, the plaintiff, Airion Grace, claims that the purchase refusal is “unlawful age discrimination.”

Grace attempted to buy shotgun shells at a Washington County Kroger subsidiary, Fred Meyer, “on or about March 6, 2018.” He went to the gun/ammunition counter in the store, asked for a box of shotgun shells, and was told he could not purchase them because he was not 21.

On March 1, Breitbart News reported that Kroger announced it would no longer sell firearms and ammunition to anyone 18-20 years old.

The grocery chain sells guns and ammunition at its Fred Meyer stores in the western U.S. Those sales will continue, but people under the age of 21 will be prohibited from purchase.

Grace claims this policy violates Oregon’s law against age-based discrimination for those 18 years and older in places of public accommodations. The state law includes prohibitions against discrimination in stores that are open to the general public.

Grace seeks:

1. Injunctive relief requiring Defendant to stop unlawfully discriminating against 18, 19, and 20-year-old customers at all Oregon locations.
2. Punitive damages.
3. Reasonable costs and attorney fees.
4. Such other relief deemed just and equitable.

Twenty-year-old Tyler Watson filed suit on March 5 against a Jackson County, Oregon, Dick’s Sporting Goods store, claiming similar “unlawful age discrimination” over its age-based refusal to sell him a .22 rifle.

AWR Hawkins is an award-winning Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News, the host of the Breitbart podcast Bullets with AWR Hawkins, and the writer/curator of Down Range with AWR Hawkins, a weekly newsletter focused on all things Second Amendment, also for Breitbart News. He is the political analyst for Armed American Radio. Follow him on Twitter: @AWRHawkins. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com. Sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange.