Can States Protect Gun Owners' Credit Card Privacy?

In response to the International Organization for Standardization approving a Merchant Category Code (MCC) for firearms retailers a little over a year ago, pro-gun lawmakers in three states are currently pushing forward legislation to protect the credit card data privacy of gun owners.

MCCs are used by payment processors (like Visa and Mastercard) and other financial services companies to categorize transactions. Prior to the creation of the specific code for guns, firearms retailers fell under the MCC for sporting goods stores or miscellaneous retail.

“For practical purposes, collecting firearms retailer financial transaction data amounts to surveillance and registration of law-abiding gun owners,” NRA’s Institute for Legislative Action stated in a recent news bulletin. “Those promoting this scheme are in favor of firearm and gun owner registrations.”