Republican states Georgia and Tennessee recently enacted measures to prevent the tracking of information about the sales of firearms. Gov. Brian Kemp (R-GA) and Gov. Bill Lee (R-TN) signed Second Amendment privacy acts this past week, which would prohibit the use of credit card merchant codes to collect data on firearm purchases.
On Monday, Gov. Kemp signed HB 1018 into Georgia law, receiving substantial praise from the firearms community for the pro-Second Amendment legislation. Similarly, Gov. Lee signed SB223 into Tennessee law on Tuesday.
Reports from earlier this year indicate that credit card companies such as Mastercard, American Express, and Visa were implementing a unique merchant code that allegedly would allow banks to track firearm and firearms-related purchases in California. Apparently, the merchant code was issued to comply with a California law that would give banks the ability to monitor “suspicious” activity surrounding gun purchases.
Additional reports over the past several years have suggested that credit card companies have submitted to the pressure of anti-gun activist organizations and Democratic politicians who seek to push a gun control agenda.
For example, it has been reported in recent years that the major credit card companies have indicated they will begin tracking ammo and gun purchases through unique merchant codes. However, an intense wave of pushback from conservatives led Mastercard and Visa to back down from the tracking efforts in 2023.
However, California’s law around tracking gun purchases is still set to take effect in 2025, where it will mandate that credit card companies track firearm-related transactions. In light of this legislation, many conservative states have moved to ban point-of-sale data collection related to guns. Alongside Georgia and Tennessee, other states such as Iowa, Kentucky, Wyoming, Indiana, Utah, Texas, Florida, Idaho, Mississippi, Montana, North Dakota, and West Virginia all have implemented similar laws.
The pro-Second Amendment legislative efforts have been met with praise from the conservative gun community. The National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) recently applauded Gov. Brian Kemp for signing the Second Amendment Privacy Act.
According to the organization, Georgians will no longer have to concerned with financial institutions colluding with the federal government to surveil the private transactions of law-abiding citizens. The statement added that the move hinders the government from creating illegal “watchlists” of private citizens based on their firearms-related purchases.
“Governor Brian Kemp’s signature on the Second Amendment Privacy Act is yet another example of his firm commitment to protecting the Second Amendment rights of all Georgians. Citizens in Georgia won’t worry that ‘woke’ Wall Street banks, credit card companies and payment processors will collude with government entities to spy on their private finances to illegally place them on gun control watchlists,” stated Lawrence G. Keane, NSSF Senior Vice President & General Counsel. “NSSF is grateful House Speaker Jon Burns, Lieutenant Governor Burt Jones, Representative Jason Ridley and state Senator Carden Summers for bringing this crucial legislation to become law. No American should fear being placed on a government watchlist simply for exercising their Constitutionally-protected rights to keep and bear arms,” the group said, celebrating the Georgia law.
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