Virginia – -(Ammoland.com)- First – let's clear up one simple fact: a gun dealer can deny a firearms purchase anytime they want and for any reason. Period, end of sentence. This is often how straw purchases are stopped. A salesman overhears something suspicious and then refuses to do the sale.
In this video, posted by CHRIS KING MASON, a dealer refuses to sell him a gun. When pressed as to why the sale was being denied, the store owner, VANCE HOPKINS, said, “We have to follow all federal guidelines and we’re not gonna sell you a gun.”
In the video, Mr. Mason, who is black, is saying that the gun store, Hopkins Gun & Tackle, is stereotyping him. If, by stereotyping, Mason means not selling a gun to a black man, that accusation fails. In the video, as Mr. Hopkins is walking over to the phone to call the police, the camera briefly shows another black man in the process of buying a gun from another salesman!
Mr. Mason keeps badgering Mr. Hopkins and finally leaves before the police arrive to enforce a trespass charge.
Whether the sale should have been denied or not, I have no way of knowing. But the denial doesn't appear to be racially motivated, as the ibtimes.com seems to imply in the link that follows.
Virginia Gun Store Refuses Black Customer, Accused Of Stereotyping
About Virginia Citizens Defense League, Inc. (VCDL):
Virginia Citizens Defense League, Inc. (VCDL). VCDL is an all-volunteer, non-partisan grassroots organization dedicated to defending the human rights of all Virginians. The Right to Keep and Bear Arms is a fundamental human right.
For more information, visit: www.vcdl.org.
It doesn’t matter if he is black, Mexican, or Muslim, or pink with purple polka dots, all businesses reserve the “Right” to refuse service to anyone. Period! Nobody Has to do business with anyone!!!
Agreed Stan, he should learn the law before purchase and look somewhat mature and competent to carry at the next store.
Can anyone do their job anymore, without the Cyber Trolls ganging up that person or Company and spinning in into the Race Card ! If I was denied for something, would I whip out my phone and start videoing, while laughing and threatening and accusing? Yes , If I was guilty of what I was being accused of. Otherwise I would probably just feel embarrassed and confused, if I was innocent! Wearing a Tupac Shirt should be automatic denial on gun purchase. People are starting to attempt to get what they aren’t legally entitled to have by the threat of… Read more »
Probably won’t post this comment either, oh well.
Wearing a Tupac shirt as opposed to an Al Capone or Clint Eastwood shirt I suppose.. Anyways, profiling aside. I have an FFL license and just happen to be black. I don’t have to beg to purchase a thing. Like I said in the deleted comment, doesn’t matter if he is racist or not. By law he does not have to sell, and the customer can just kick rocks and go to another store. Why embarrass yourself like this? Just wasting your time instead of learning the law.
Wearing a Tupac shirt is merely an indication of very poor taste in music.
No doubt in store video system will prove the ‘customer’ was up to no good.
That’s how we get liberals pro-gun, deny the sale of guns to:
#1Blacks, #2 Mexicans #3 Muslums and the left will go crazy that we should be selling to these people & start pushing for gun rights.
AP, hahaha.. now that’s brilliant.
Compare and contrast with Project Gunwalker, aka Operation Fast & Furious, the news of which was broken by David Codrea and Michael Vanderboegh:
https://web.archive.org/web/20120207121649/http://www.examiner.com/gun-rights-in-national/a-journalist-s-guide-to-project-gunwalker
Wherein gun dealers in border states were expressing concerns about sales of weapons that eventually ended up across the border, and were told – ordered, really – by the government to proceed with the sales.
I followed a link from this story and ended up on YouTube looking at a pro black rights channel that is suppose to support black people. They said in the video it was racism and didn’t mention how little the video showed of what led up to the denial. I scrolled down to the comments and almost every one was the most hateful,racist comments directed towards white people and to only support black business owners. Every comment was the same. If it was reversed YouTube would have suspended the acct and most of the commentors. None were flagged, no one… Read more »
Years ago I worked in a gun store in Illinois. The owner was very happy when Illinois adopted the FOID because it was the only way he could comply with the law that had been on the books for decades, you can’t sell a gun to a criminal. But how can a dealer know if a stranger is a criminal or not? The boss was always afraid to refuse a sale because he could be sued for “discrimination” but the FOID gave him protection. When a customer asked to see a gun we’d ask the customer for his FOID. If… Read more »
When I lived in IL the three day waiting period prevented me from making a few impulse purchases. Otherwise, it sucked.
I wonder how the store owner handled the firearm that the man had on layaway?
Did the store owner shoot himself in the foot or did he really think the buyer was being a straw purchaser?
Not enough facts.
That’s right, not enough facts. What was going on before the camera was turned on? Could the store owner have gotten a phone tip? The one thing a store owner wants to do is to make a sale. There’s nothing in this video that explains why a store owner won’t do the one thing he wants to do above anything else, sell his product.
Kinda defeats his argument of stereotyping when he says they’ve sold him guns before & he currently has one on layaway. But what do I know, my skin is of the Caucasian persuasion so I’m inherently a bigoted racist.
@Wzrd, I think that he is a amateur victim trying to become a professional victim. Sun is up. Got to go.
I’ve done many many transfers there, And have seen African Americans every time I’ve been there waiting for the State Police background check to approve, leave with pistols, shotguns, ammo, etc. There are Black employees also that work there . Mr. Mason looks sketchy with the other friend that is lurking around, and the Tupac Shakur shirt , sorta is a negative gun buy attire. These guys are Pros at spotting sketch firearm purchasers . They have a fiduciary duty to spot any odd behavior . And they passed on a sale. It’s their right and responsibility to stop any… Read more »
Can you say “Race baiting?” Sure you can. Glad it went viral because now we know who no to sell to. “Life is hard; life is harder when you’re stupid” – John Wayne.
I remember a gun shop owner a number of years ago who told some white guys to leave his store because they wouldn’t be buying anything there. The reason? They were wearing black boots with white laces and no hair on their heads. This was a common thing among white supremacists back then. And no one thought anything of it.