A 20-year-old is suing Dick's and Walmart over new gun policies, alleging age discrimination

Tyler Watson, 20, alleges he encountered age discrimination when he tried to purchase a .22-caliber Ruger rifle on Feb. 24 - four days before the companies announced their new policies - at Field & Stream, an outdoors sports store in Medford, Oregon, owned by Dick's. In Oregon, state law allows residents to purchase firearms at age 18. About a week later, on Saturday, Watson went to Walmart to again try to purchase the gun. He was turned away, according to a lawsuit filed in Josephine County Monday. The lawsuit against Walmart and a second lawsuit filed against Dick's in Jackson County on Monday both allege that the companies' policies violated Oregon discrimination law, which prohibits a place of public accommodation from refusing to serve a customer based on their race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation or age. The only exceptions to the age rule apply to the sale of alcohol or marijuana to minors and special discounts or services for seniors...more