On Tuesday, Feb. 27, the House Banking & Consumer Affairs Subcommittee will consider House Bill 2762. Introduced by Rep. Rusty Grills (R), the proposal would ban the use of merchant category codes (MCCs) to track the sales of firearms and ammunition.
Anti-gun extremists want to mandate that payment processors single out weapons, weapon accessories and ammo transactions.
This scheme gained momentum in the Fall of 2022 when the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) approved MCCs for weapons and accessories. According to the National Rifle Association, this would mean that payment processors and banks would “identify, monitor and collect data” on these transactions.
Previously, these sales were categorized as miscellaneous retail, but now they would be open to tracking and the formation of a database of weapons purchases.
Several states immediately rose in opposition, passing laws banning such anti-Second Amendment activities. The pushback was so strong that, early last year, financial institutions backed down.
But there is a new push in California to move forward with these MCCs, and Colorado is on a similar path. The Golden State last year passed a law to require this tracking, and credit card companies are quietly complying.
This means it is more necessary than ever for states where gun rights are treasured to stand up to this plan. Tennessee lawmakers are correct in taking up the issue, and there should be little debate over passing a ban on this practice.
After all, it amounts to nothing more than surveillance and tracking of constitutionally protected transactions. This should be stopped dead in its tracks.
