New Hampshire isn’t waiting to see where the on-again, off-again relationship between zealous gun grabbers and credit card merchant codes for guns and ammunition end up. They’ve advanced legislation that would prohibit Merchant Category codes for firearms-related anything.
House Bill 1186 prohibits the assigning of a specific merchant category code to the sale of firearms, ammunition, or firearm accessories, and provides a civil penalty for violations of this prohibition. This critical legislation protects gun-owners privacy and ensures that bad actors cannot use credit and debit card transactions to create a gun-registry or block cardholders from making gun-related purchases.
We’ve been following the story for a while. A few years ago, a handful of tightly sewn hoplophobic assholes (who all happened to -surprise – be Democrats) sent nastygrams to credit card companies suggesting they come up with specific codes for guns, and ammunition accessories purchased with a credit card. Data the government could request or demand providing it (or whichever third party mob they leaked them to) with dates, names, and addresses because we all know how “gun traffickers” like to use credit cards to buy firearms illegally (not!).
Within a few months, this blatant effort by states like New York and California was met with significant pushback by mostly Red State AGs.
“Americans are tired of seeing corporate leverage used to advance political goals that cannot muster basic democratic support,” reads a five-page letter sent to the CEOs of American Express, Mastercard, and Visa by the attorneys general of 24, mostly red, states. “The Second Amendment is a fundamental right, but it’s also a fundamental American value. Our financial institutions should stop lending their market power to those who wish to attack that value.”
Led by Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti along with Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen and co-signed by the AGs of Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Wyoming, and West Virginia, the letter say the monitoring and tracking of firearms purchases creates a “list of gun buyers” and the obvious risk that law-abiding consumers’ information will be obtained and misused by those who oppose Americans exercising their right to keep and bear arms.
New laws would make it illegal to create these financial gun registries, which caused the major credit card companies to pause their consideration or implementation. The problem of addressing another hodgepodge of rules in various states would be more of a headache than listening to Letitia James whine, and since the pause in April of 2023, more states, including New Hampshire, have proposed similar bills. I have not read the others, but ours includes teeth. Tiny teeth, but they are there.
Violators have 30 days to correct records and provide proof that they are no longer in violation of the statute, but failing that, the AG can file an injunction, pursue legal remedies, and recover costs resulting from that.
Much like the knowledge that almost anyone you encounter might be able to defend themself with a firearm can deter crime, HB1186 establishes a similar understanding. With slim majorities in both chambers, New Hampshire should be able to pass this and get it into law so we never have to use it.
But it’s there if we need it.