On Wednesday, March 6th, House Bill 357 was passed by the Senate Veterans, Military Affairs, and Public Protection Committee. HB 357 prohibits the use of firearm/ammunition specific merchant category codes by payment processors. This is an important protection for gun owners, protecting private purchasing information from abuse by third parties. For more information click here. The bill is championed by Rep. Derek Lewis (R, H-90) and co-sponsored by Banking and Finance Committee Chairman Rep. Michael Meredith (R, H-19).
The bill now advances to the Senate floor for consideration, where it will be carried by Senator Jason Howell (R, S-01). Please contact your Senator now and urge them to SUPPORT HB 357 by using the Take Action button now.
In the Fall of 2022, the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) approved a Merchant Category Code (MCC) for firearm retailers. MCCs are used by payment processors (like Visa and Mastercard) and other financial services companies to categorize transactions. MCCs enable payment processors and banks to identify, monitor, and collect data on certain types of transactions. Before the ISO decision, firearm retailers fell under the MCC for sporting goods stores or miscellaneous retail.
Collecting firearm retailer financial transaction data amounts to surveillance and registration of law-abiding gun owners. Those promoting this scheme are in favor of firearm and gun owner registrations. Therefore, it should be assumed that the goal of this program is to share all collected firearm retailer MCC data with government authorities and potentially private third parties that may include gun control organizations and anti-gun researchers.
Please stay tuned to the NRA-ILA website and your inbox for updates as this critical legislation progresses.
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