Image Jim Grant
In
September
of the previous year, the
International Organization for Standardization
(ISO) assigned a new
Merchant Category Code
(MCC) to firearm vendors. In response, the
NRA-ILA
has been proactively reaching out to key players in the financial industry, as
well as state legislators and legal officials, informing them of gun owners'
concerns and urging them to take action. So far, various states and their
legal representatives have undertaken significant actions to safeguard
American citizens' Second Amendment rights and personal privacy.
Major credit card companies, American Express, Mastercard, and Visa,
announced a pause in the application of the new code on March 9, citing
strong resistance to the acceptance of a firearm vendor MCC. This decision
was triggered by state legislative action to restrict the use of the firearm
retailer MCC, as reported by
Reuters.
A bit of context: the ISO is a non-governmental organization based in Geneva
that comprises a network of international and industry "standards bodies"
that facilitate consensus. MCCs are utilized by payment processing companies
like Visa and Mastercard, and other financial services firms to categorize
transactions. This allows these companies to recognize, monitor, and gather
data on certain transaction types. Before the ISO's decision, firearm
vendors were classified under the MCC for sports goods stores or
miscellaneous retail.
The adoption of the new MCC was prompted by Amalgamated Bank,
despite opposition from industry stakeholders. Amalgamated Bank proudly positions itself as a
left-leaning political initiative, expressing its commitment to supporting candidates, political parties,
action committees, and organizations striving to drive progressive change.
Why is this concerning? Supporters of the new MCC have been transparent
about their ambition to leverage the code to enforce stricter gun control
through a public-private alliance.
Amalgamated Bank plans
to establish a software algorithm using the MCC to notify authorities of
"suspicious activities" and unlawful gun sales. However, the definition of
"suspicious activity" remains vague. Considering that firearm purchases from
retail stores already involve an FBI National Instant Criminal Background
Check System (NICS) check, such "suspicious activity" would likely target
lawful gun sales.
As explained by the
New York Times, this gun control scheme would work in tandem with the federal government,
with banks either allowing or blocking the transactions flagged as
suspicious. These would then be reported to the Treasury Department's
Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, which ideally would relay this
information promptly to local law enforcement and the FBI.
Collecting financial transaction data from firearm retailers essentially
means surveillance and registration of law-abiding gun owners. The
proponents of this scheme are known to advocate against the privacy of
firearm owners and support firearm and gun owner registration. Therefore, it
can be assumed that the ultimate aim of this program is to share all
collected MCC data with government authorities and potentially private third
parties, including anti-gun researchers and gun control organizations.
Federal law currently prohibits the establishment of a national firearms
registry, and this creation of an MCC could be seen as an attempt to bypass
these restrictions. With
President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris openly supporting
gun confiscation, the risks posed by firearm registration have escalated.
Additionally, this plan offers a mechanism to restrict and monitor those who
exercise their First Amendment rights in ways that could displease gun
control advocates or the federal government. As an example,
Everytown for Gun Safety's president John Feinblatt
suggested, "Banks should report dangerous warning signs to law enforcement
when extremists are quickly building up massive stockpiles of guns." In
September 2022, President
Joe Biden
defined "extremism" to include "Donald Trump and the MAGA Republicans."
In the first half of 2023, several states passed legislation to prohibit or
discourage the use of the firearm retailer MCC.
As of March 11, West Virginia Governor Jim Justice signed
HB 2004.
As of April 5, Idaho Governor Brad Little signed
HB 295.
As of April 13, Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves signed
HB 1110.
As of April 29, North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum signed
HB 1487.
As of May 12, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed
SB 214.
As of May 19, Montana Governor Greg Gianforte signed
SB 359.
As of June 10, Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed
HB 2837.
While the details of these bills differ, they generally prohibit financial
institutions from requiring firearm vendors to use a specific MCC, thus
preserving the status quo prior to September 2022.
For example, Texas law stipulates that a financial institution or its agent
may not require the usage of the firearms code in a way that distinguishes a
firearms retailer physically located in Texas from Texas general merchandise
retailers or sporting goods retailers.
The law in Texas enables the attorney general to investigate financial
institutions suspected of violating the MCC restriction and imposes civil
penalties on those persisting in their illegal conduct. Furthermore, those
affected by an institution's MCC violations may file a lawsuit to obtain
equitable relief.
West Virginia went a step further by allowing customers and merchants to
file a civil lawsuit for damages against entities that misuse the firearm
retailer MCC. Successful plaintiffs may recover liquidated damages or actual
damages, whichever is greater.
Despite significant victories in states like Florida and Texas in defending
the rights of lawful gun owners, anti-gun lawmakers in some jurisdictions
are still trying to exploit the firearm retailer MCC to attack the Second
Amendment.
For instance, in California,
AB-1587
is currently being considered by the state legislature. This bill would
require financial institutions to assign the ISO's "merchant category code
for firearms and ammunition businesses" to any "firearm merchant," a term
that even includes those selling just firearm accessories or ammunition.
As anti-gun regions attempt to enforce the firearm retailer MCC on lawful
gun owners and retailers, supporters of the Second Amendment must stay
alert. Early wins against this gun control scheme have demonstrated the
effectiveness of committed gun rights activists, but future confrontations
on this issue will require an equally resolute determination.
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