WASHINGTON, March 21, 2024 /7Newswire — NSSF®, The Firearm Industry Trade Association, applauds Utah Gov. Spencer Cox for signing House Bill 406 into law, NSSF-supported legislation that will bar the use of a firearm-retailer specific Merchant Category Code (MCC) for banks, credit card companies or financial service providers to track the lawful sale of firearms and ammunition.
NSSF worked closely with legislators in Utah to introduce legislation that would protect private and legal purchases from exploitation. HB 406 is designed to protect the privacy of lawful and private firearm and ammunition purchases from being abused for political purposes by corporate financial service providers and unlawful government search and seizure of legal and private financial transactions.
“Corporate banks and the federal government have already proven they will run roughshod over Second Amendment and Privacy rights. The need to safeguard private and legal purchases of firearms and ammunition by law-abiding citizens has never been greater,” said Lawrence G. Keane, NSSF Senior Vice President & General Counsel. “NSSF thanks Governor Cox for his leadership in signing this important legislation into law that will protect the rights of the citizens in Utah. No American should fear being placed on a government watchlist simply for exercising their Constitutionally-protected rights to keep and bear arms.”
The U.S. Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) admitted to U.S. Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) in a letter that it violated the Fourth Amendment rights of law-abiding citizens that protect against illegal search and seizure when it collected the credit card purchase history from banks and credit card companies of individuals who purchased firearms and ammunition in the days surrounding Jan. 6, 2020. Treasury’s FinCEN had no cause, and sought the information without a warrant, to place these law-abiding citizens on a government watchlist only because they exercised their Second Amendment rights to lawfully purchase firearms and ammunition.
The idea of a firearm-retailer specific MCC was borne from antigun New York Times columnist Andrew Ross Sorkin and Amalgamated Bank, which has been called “The Left’s Private Banker” and bankrolls the Democratic National Committee and several antigun politicians. Amalgamated Bank lobbied the Swiss-based International Organization for Standardization (ISO) for the code’s creation. NSSF has called on Congress to investigate Amalgamated Bank’s role in manipulating the ISO standard setting process.
Sorkin admitted creating a firearm-retailer specific MCC would be a first step to creating a national firearm registry, which is forbidden by federal law.
Utah joins Indiana, Florida, Idaho, Mississippi, Montana, North Dakota, Texas and West Virginia with laws protecting citizens’ Second Amendment privacy. Several other states are considering similar legislation. U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) introduced H.R. 7450, the NSSF-supported Protecting Privacy in Purchases Act, in the U.S. House of Representatives. California’s Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a law requiring the use of a firearm-retailer specific MCC and Colorado is considering similar legislation.
About NSSF
NSSF is the trade association for the firearm industry. Its mission is to promote, protect and preserve hunting and the shooting sports. Formed in 1961, NSSF has over 10,0000 members including manufacturers, distributors, firearms retailers, shooting ranges, sportsmen’s organizations and publishers nationwide. For more information, visit nssf.org.
SOURCE NATIONAL SHOOTING SPORTS FOUNDATION
