St. Louis Park gun shop owner’s policy: No sales of AR-15s to anyone under 21

The United States House of Representatives last week passed legislation that could raise the age limit for purchasing semi-automatic rifles from 18 to 21 years old, if approved by the Senate.

That’s already been the store policy at Frontiersman Sports in St. Louis Park for several years.

“Your first gun shouldn’t be an AR-15 when you’re 18 years old, in my opinion,” said Kory Krause, the owner of Frontiersman Sports. “A lot of responsibility owning one of these guns — it should not be taken lightly.”

In Minnesota, an 18-year-old with a permit to purchase can buy a semi-automatic rifle. However, there’s an age restriction of 21 years old for a handgun purchase from a federally licensed dealer in the state.

It was a conversation several years ago after a school shooting that Krause said helped solidify his commitment to not sell AR-15s at the store to anyone under 21.

“The mayor and I had got into a conversation and he said, ‘How do you feel about the age to purchase these guns and changing policy,’ I told him we had been discussing it,” Krause said.

Krause met with St. Louis Park Mayor Jake Spano after several high school students were concerned about an out-of-state school shooting and approached City Hall leaders.

“It was a really respectful and productive conversation and built a tremendous level of trust, and action that came out of it,” Spano said.

“We’re not trying to curtail anyone’s gun rights,” Krause said about the store’s 21-and-over policy.

Just a decision, he explained, made by a local gun shop owner and father about which customers leave his store with a gun.

“We thought it could be impactful, that’s largely why we did it,” Krause said.

It’s a decision, made years ago, that Krause said he stands behind to this day.