Key facts
- The U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill to prevent the use of specific merchant codes for firearm retailers.
- This legislation aims to preempt states that have moved to implement such codes.
- California law requires credit card companies to assign special retail codes to gun stores.
- Conversely, Georgia, Iowa, Tennessee, and Wyoming have banned the use of specific gun shop codes.
- Gun control advocates hope the codes will help flag suspicious purchases, while gun rights advocates fear it could lead to unwarranted suspicion.
The U.S. House of Representatives has passed a bill that would prevent the creation and use of specific merchant category codes for firearm retailers, an effort to preempt state-level adoption of such tools. This legislative action comes amid a growing divide between states seeking to track gun sales through financial transaction data and those aiming to block such efforts.
California recently enacted a law requiring credit card networks like Visa and Mastercard to provide banks with special retail codes for gun stores. The intention behind this is to enable financial institutions to flag suspicious gun-related purchases for law enforcement, potentially helping to prevent mass shootings and other crimes. Several other Democratic-led states, including Colorado and New York, have followed California's lead.
However, a contrasting trend is emerging in several Republican-led states. Georgia, Iowa, Tennessee, and Wyoming have passed laws making it illegal for banks and credit card companies to track firearm information. Over the past 16 months, 17 states with GOP-led legislatures have enacted measures prohibiting or limiting the use of a firearms store code. Gun-rights advocates and industry groups, such as the National Shooting Sports Foundation, view these codes as a potential first step toward restricting lawful firearm commerce and could lead to unwarranted suspicion of law-abiding gun buyers.
The International Organization of Standardization has developed a new four-digit code for businesses that primarily sell guns and ammunition. While this code can identify a purchase as being from a gun store, it cannot distinguish between the purchase of a firearm, ammunition, a gun safe, or related apparel like hunting gear. Proponents, like Hudson Munoz of Guns Down America, see the merchant category code as a crucial step for the banking system to address gun violence. Conversely, Lawrence Keane of the National Shooting Sports Foundation argues it's an attempt to restrict lawful commerce.
This debate over tracking gun sales via credit card codes is part of a broader national discussion on gun policy. U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy recently declared gun violence a public health crisis, a move met with criticism from the National Rifle Association. The differing state laws highlight the partisan divide on gun control measures, with some states moving towards stricter regulations and others towards looser carry laws.