20-Year-Old Files ‘Age Discrimination’ Lawsuit Against Major Sporting Goods Stores for Refusing to Sell .22 Rifle
OutdoorHub Reporters 03.06.18
A 20-year-old in Oregon is dragging DICK’S Sporting Goods and Walmart into court after both major sporting goods stores refused to sell him a rifle due to his age.
The plaintiff, Tyler Watson, is claiming “Unlawful Age Discrimination,” and his case might actually hold water.
According to Willamette Week, Oregon law says as long as an individual is an adult, they cannot be refused something based on age that’s readily available to other adults.
A retired judge in Oregon, Jim Hargreaves, breaks it down further:
“They [sellers] can’t set their own age limit because the statute has already done that. They don’t have any authority because the statute specifically says you can’t as a merchant discriminate against either young people or old people. If you’re selling something you have to sell it to anyone who is entitled to buy it by law.“
The lawsuit claims Mr. Watson attempted to purchase a .22 caliber Ruger rifle from Field & Stream in Medford, Oregon, but was refused. Watson then traveled to a Walmart in Grants Pass, Oregon, a few days later to buy the gun, but again was turned away.
This is believed to be the first piece of legal litigation filed over the new gun restrictions enacted February 28.
