Congressmen Moore, Hudson, Barr Introduce Legislation to Prohibit Tracking of Gun and Ammo Sales by Financial Institutions
Washington, D.C. – Today, Congressman Riley M. Moore introduced the Protecting Privacy in Purchases Act with twenty-six of his House colleagues.
The legislation bans the use of a new, unique Merchant Category Code for transactions involving firearms and ammunition. While financial institutions use these codes to organize data on the different types of purchases consumers make everyday, they should not be weaponized to track specific subsets of consumer goods.
In turn, the use of a unique code for guns and ammo could be an effective way for banks and credit card companies to compile data on gun owners, which would represent a disturbing lack of privacy. Similar legislation has already been passed in Congressman Moore’s home state of West Virginia.
The National Shooting Sports Foundation, Gun Owners of America, the National Rifle Association, and the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation all endorsed Congressman Moore’s legislation.
Congressman Moore released the following statement:
“I’ve spent the better part of my short career in public service fighting financial institutions that push a political agenda. Let me be clear: any attempt to collect data on Americans simply exercising their God-given rights is wrong, and I won’t stand for it.
“We’ve seen how the Biden Administration pressured financial institutions to hand over data on their customers, and the possibility of a private database of gun owners falling into the hands of a future anti-gun administration is unacceptable.”
Congressman Richard Hudson (R-NC), a lead co-sponsor of the bill, added:
“The American people are fed up with gun grabbing liberals’ attempts to encroach on their Constitutionally protected rights. I am proud to join Congressman Moore in introducing legislation to protect the freedom and privacy of law-abiding gun owners like you.”
Congressman Andy Barr (R-KY), another lead co-sponsor of the bill, added:
“In America, the right to privacy and the right to keep and bear arms are fundamental. We must ensure that law-abiding citizens can make purchases without fear of unwarranted tracking or political discrimination. This legislation is about upholding our constitutional freedoms and preventing the misuse of financial data to target individuals exercising their Second Amendment rights.”
Joining Rep. Moore as original co-sponsors were Representatives Richard Hudson (NC); Andy Barr (KY); Aaron Bean (FL); Ben Cline (VA); Scott Perry (PA); Beth van Duyne (TX); Brett Guthrie (KY); Mike Collins (GA); Brad Finstead (MN); Barry Moore (AL); Daniel Webster (FL); Michael Guest (MS); Michael Rulli (OH); Roger Willaims (TX); Clay Higgins (LA); Mike Bost (IL); Claudia Tenney (NY); Derek Schmitt (KS); Tim Moore (NC); Dan Newhouse (WA); James Comes (KY); Steve Womack (AR); John Rose (TN); Rudy Yakum (IN); Brandon Gill (TX); John Rutherford (FL); and Addison McDowell (NC).
Here’s what others are saying:
“The need to protect law-abiding gun owners from government intrusion into their legal and private firearm and ammunition purchases has never been greater. The Biden administration proved it was willing to ignore the law and use government pressure to coerce banks to illegally spy on Americans to create government watchlists,” said Lawrence G. Keane, NSSF Senior Vice President and General Counsel. “This legislation, introduced by Congressmen dedicated to preserving financial privacy and Second Amendment rights, would rein in federal overreach to use the private financial transactions of law-abiding citizens against them for political means. No American should be concerned that the federal government is employing this scheme, concocted by gun control cheerleaders, that weaponizes an individual’s finances and their free exercise of Second Amendment rights to wrongly identify them as a criminal-in-waiting. NSSF is grateful for this principled leadership to stand up for Constitutionally-protected rights and against special interests and big government lawmakers whose goal it is to monitor and deny lawful transactions, by law-abiding Americans.”
"Anti-gunners have repeatedly tried to weaponize financial institutions to de-bank the firearms industry and undermine the Second Amendment,” said Aidan Johnston, Director of Federal Affairs for Gun Owners of America. “The recent abuse of Merchant Category Codes to track gun owners is just the latest example of the violation of our privacy. Thank you to Representatives Moore, Hudson, and Barr for introducing this legislation to prohibit the tracking and backdoor registration of firearm and ammunition sales."
“The implementation of Merchant Category Codes to surveil lawful purchases is nothing more than an ill-conceived attempt to create a de facto national firearms registry,” said John Commerford, Executive Director of NRA-ILA. “On behalf of millions of NRA members and gun owners nationwide, we thank Representatives Moore, Hudson, and Barr for protecting our Second Amendment rights and our privacy.”
Read more about the bill’s introduction from Washington Examiner and Breitbart News.
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