Does Walmart make up it's own gun sale rules?

J

Jayster

New member
New guy here. Great forum by the way.

Did some searches and couldn't find anything in particular about this issue.

Was at a local WW, live in Virginia, to get a 10-22 they had.

Pulled out my VA CC permit and driver's license and the clerk says the driver's license must have my street address on it. It has a PO Box only. My CC permit has my street address.

Well at the time I didn't know if he was right or wrong. I thought he was wrong because I have had no trouble at all buying any guns in the last few years with these IDs, most which have been pistols.

So I go home. Do my research on the federal and VA forms. We have to do both in VA.

I wasn't sure what the problem was but when I go back with my license and registration and CC permit and I still get told, by another clerk, that the driver's license has to have a street address, nothing else will work.

Do you think I am at all happy at this point?

I go home. Do MORE research. I even call the Virginia Firearms Transaction Center to ask about the issue.
The officer says Walmart is wrong, that I can supply other documentation to verify my street address. I tell him I did but all they would say is the driver's license HAD to have the street address. They never said other documentation was ok.
He told me I could have them call the VFTC number but I really think nothing will matter to them, that they are going to do what THEY want to do.

SO......
I call the DMV to see if I can add my street address to my driver's license....

They say no, that my primary mailing address must be on it.
Even though I can get my vehicle registration with BOTH!

Can you imagine my frustration?

My wife shows my her license and it has BOTH. I call DMV again. They still say they can't do it NOW.

sheeeesh....

So why the big deal about getting the 10-22 at WW? My wife works for WW and I can get 10% off is a good reason, also I knew the 10-22 would be snapped up if someone found out they had it.

And now it IS gone.

To compound things I go to a gun shop and a WW in NC near where I work and they say with my documentation they can sell long guns to me. Get that. I can't buy in a WW near me in my home state but can in the next state south. What BS.

Of course neither the NC WW or shop has the 10-22 I wanted.

Any similar things with anyone?

I probably will not worry with that particular WW again but I want to make them eat their words so b-a-d. I might question them again. Might even ask for a manager. I just feel like it's something I need to do even if I don't buy, just to let them know I know they are wrong and the VA State Police says they are wrong. Yeah I know they won't give a flip but you know how it is.

I also want to go to the local DMV, not the state office and see if they will add my street address to my driver's license just so I will have everything I need if ever the urge hits to buy at this particular WW again, although I think I'd rather just visit the NC store.
 
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I think that u must have I'd with physical address. I have a cdl with po box and until I got a handgun permit, I had to take my voters card to buy a gun. Now I just show my chl.

My commercial dl only had po box.
 
Well as for long guns you can buy them in any state, some dealers may not want to, either ignorant to the law or have had/heard too many issues w/ ATF.

In regards to walmart, a retailer can typically require whatever they want to in regards to a transaction. There are certain things that a state law can require a retail place to do (auto repair shop in Fl must accept used batteries and used oil).
 
I'd guess this is a case less of it being walmart policy, but more of what was written on the piece of paper that tells random clerk at walmart how to handle a firearms transaction. Something along the lines of "Step 2: Verify street address on DL" with no notation of the full regulations.
 
Like any FFL dealer can refuse a sale because they "want to", Walmart can have their own policies on things. I went for a while with only a PO box on my license as my address. I was staying in a bed & breakfast at the time and had been for about a year. I later rented a house, but I had no problem buying guns locally. At the time, I used the physical address of the bed & breakfast on the 4473. The dealer was comfortable with that. Went into his shop a lot. Remember you are swearing that the information presented is accurate on the form.
 
Pulled out my VA CC permit and driver's license and the clerk says the driver's license must have my street address on it. It has a PO Box only. My CC permit has my street address.
Click to expand...

Not sure what the state laws are in VA. Here in OH, we only need one state ID, so the CC permit would work here. Do you need 2 forms of ID to buy in VA?

Well as for long guns you can buy them in any state, some dealers may not want to, either ignorant to the law or have had/heard too many issues w/ ATF.
Click to expand...

I ran into that in NC. I don't know why that was the store policy, but I was looking at shotguns and the guy told me that because I wasn't a resident of NC or an adjacent state, he couldn't sell me a long gun.
 
The VA state form says the addresses must match, not that they can't be a PO Box.
The federal form plainly states you can supply other documents to verify physical address.
I looked at both forms online and the instruction for filling them out.
Like I said, no problems at other dealers in VA and a NC shop and WW said no problem.

It seems it is just how this store operates.

I asked the straight question, "So no matter what other documents I have you won't sell if my driver's license has a po box?"

The clerk said that was correct.

He is not correct legally. The fed form does not say that and the state form does not say that and the officer at the VA Firearms Transaction Center said so.
 
You don't need to drive a car to buy a firearm.

Thus...

You don't need to have a DL to buy a firearm.

So....

Show up with a Passport and some other ID that has your address on it, and fill out the form.


Willie

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They are a private entity, as long as they are at least as restrictive as the law states, they are within their rights. As the saying goes, "you can add too, but not take away."

Most federal rules and laws state the minimum action that must be taken, some go a step above to ensure that the hindquarters are covered.

As far as employees of Walmart go, they are working joes like me and you, give them a break. I spend a lot of time looking over gun counters and gun enthusiasts are quite the arrogant bunch at times. So much so, that I usually walk away when another gun guy walks up.
 
I went back this morning.
I eventually talked with an assistant manager and he eventually admitted it was a "store" thing. I told him all the ID I had and he said he thought that would be ok. Thing is the gun was gone. Really all I wanted was to give them clarity about the law, giving them all the research I had done and letting them know they could easily call the Virginia Firearms Transaction center to have it defined for them if they needed.

It was all polite. No issues. One clerk that happened to be nearby told me after the management crowd had disbursed that I had handled it really well!

But they lost a sale anyway. I went up the road a few miles and paid more for a nice new 10-22 at a shop. It wasn't a lot more. It was what I thought reasonable.
And it was worth it! And they had zero issues with my ID.

A side note.
Both WW and the shop I went to said ATF had been there in December, spending a whole week going over all their records. They are nitpicking the smallest things. You can bet Obama, Holder, and crew are having that done because of Sandy Hook, just trying their darnedest to get more "ammo" for more laws
I think is a large part of why WW was so uptight about things.

The gun shop was great. Clerk was a State Policeman. Real nice guy.
I sure don't mind paying more for shopping at a place and with people like that.
I think I have a new place to do my shopping now.
 
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