Thread: I couldn't buy a knife......and i'm of age by my state law. Could I argue?

I called the State Police of Indiana and it turns out Indiana doesn't have a age restriction on buying knives. He said a baby could legally buy one.
I went to a Dicks Sporting Good and the Cashier wouldn't sell me it because I wasn't 18 (i'm 17).

Could i argue that she/ the store was being ageist (if that's a word) and she would have to sell it to me? I just want the knife for hunting.

The store can have it's own policy on selling of weapons. As a minor, you have no protection from any sort of age discrimination.

Any store can reserve the right to refuse service for any reason. I would bet that it is store policy that they restrict sales of dangerous items to adults only. I am sure it keeps them from being sued for non-adults that get hurt by the item.


Yes this is legal.

I think stores can refuse service to any customer, so it's up to them. However I would be pretty pissed off too. in my state u have to be 18 to buy ammo, I remember being 17 and having to have my dad buy it for me. Just have an adult go with u.

D ick's Sporting Goods (sorry for the space, Yahoo! Answers edits that word - haha) has a company policy due to most state laws requiring you to be 18. There is nothing you can do, except have someone of age purchase the knife for you. Good luck!

EDIT: Or try to find another store without this policy. Again, good luck to you!

You know what? To be honest it isn't worth arguing over it, just go to another store. The merchant has the right to sell to whomever they want, if he/she believes that you're too young and did not want to sell it to you in the first place, do you think you could convince them to sell it in the end? If you really wanted that knife, you could have asked for the manager, unless the manager was the cashier... If you choose to go back for the knife and it doesn't work out again, just tell them to ***** off! I've had these types of age arguments in the past and it just isn't worth the time, take your money elsewhere!

Most states actually do not have an age limit to buy knives. But that isn't the reason that store will not sell: It's their internal store policy. The reason for this is likely to do with civil liability. For example if you bought a knife then hurt yourself with it, they are afraid your parents will sue them for selling you the knife. Yeah I know that's stupid, but that's what has become of our sue-happy culture.

The store is allowed such policies because like any business in the United States they have the right to refuse service to anyone so long as it does not violate federal and state civil rights law (i.e. not selling to people of a certain race, gender, religion, etc.) and unfortunately age is not considered a "protected" attribute under such laws. "Ageism" is a real term, but it's not recognized as illegal discrimination.

You could of course go to other stores and keep trying to buy. It is possible, though a long shot, that you will find a store that doesn't have the policy or at the very least the cashier isn't paying attention closely enough and forgets to ask for ID.

nope

if store policy is not to sell knives to anyone under the age of 18...then theres nothing you can do