Explore The NRA Universe Of Websites

APPEARS IN News

New Credit Card Rule Creates Gun Registry

Tuesday, September 13, 2022

New Credit Card Rule Creates Gun Registry

On September 9, the International Organization for Standardization (“ISO“) announced that it would create a new Merchant Category Code (“MCC”) specific to firearm and ammunition retailers. MCCs are the codes that payment processing networks (like Visa, MasterCard, and American Express) use to categorize various transactions. This is the system that allows various credit cards to offer different benefits for certain categories of purchases or to charge different fees for those same categories.

In June, Amalgamated Bank petitioned the ISO to create a new firearm specific MCC. This was the second such petition after the ISO denied an identical petition last year. The petition was supported by, among others, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), New York Mayor Eric Adams, and the anti-gun groups Giffords and Guns Down America. The petition, at least initially, seemed to lack the support of Visa, MasterCard, and American Express.

If fully implemented by the various payment processors, the hope of gun control groups for this new MCC is that it would create a registry of gun owners that they have long sought and provide them with another tool to attack lawful industry when firearms are used in crime.

Several provisions in federal law, but most notably a key part of the Firearm Owners Protection Act of 1986, prohibit the federal government from centralizing most firearm records into a registry. The new MCC could provide a way for the government to outsource the creation of a registry that the government itself is prohibited from creating. If banks and payment processors share their records with the government, that would be a major step towards the registration of all gun owners in America.

The new MCC could also give anti-gun groups a new tool to use in their lawfare campaign against lawful businesses. The groups claim that they expect banks and payment processors to “flag” so-called “suspicious” transactions with the new MCC. Notably, no standards are given for what would be considered “suspicious.” And, since the proponents of the new MCC consider the desire of any American to exercise their Second Amendment rights suspicious, it’s unlikely whatever standard is developed will be done so in good faith.

Anti-gun groups will almost certainly use the new flagging system to create liability for any banks or payment processors who do business with the firearm industry. When a firearm is used in a high-profile crime, these groups will now also sue any bank or payment processor that facilitated any transfer of the firearm and claim that these financial institutions didn’t do enough to stop the gun from falling into the wrong hands. The inevitable goal of such a campaign is to convince banks and payment processors to stop dealing with the firearm industry entirely by claiming that it is “too risky” of an industry to be involved with. In this case, that “risk” is being manufactured by the creation of the new MCC.

Fortunately, the ISO codes are not mandatory for payment processors to adopt. Pro-gun representatives and senators are already working to ask the major payment processors if and how they intend to implement the new code. NRA-ILA is also working on several ways to prevent or reduce implementation of the new MCC. Please check back to www.nraila.org for more updates on this matter.

TRENDING NOW
Undercover Video: Sen. Fetterman (D-Pa.) staffer claims boss would be “okay with like overturning the Second Amendment”

News  

Tuesday, May 30, 2023

Undercover Video: Sen. Fetterman (D-Pa.) staffer claims boss would be “okay with like overturning the Second Amendment”

It seems as though Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) may like to overturn more than just the U.S. Senate’s standards of professional attire. According to an undercover video of Fetterman senate staffer Luke Borwegen, obtained by O’Keefe Media Group, ...

Need a Good Lawyer? Don’t Use Anti-Gun Groups as a Resource

News  

Tuesday, May 30, 2023

Need a Good Lawyer? Don’t Use Anti-Gun Groups as a Resource

The anti-gun extremists at Giffords and March for Our Lives are running a joint operation to try to convince students in law school to sign a pledge to never represent anyone within “the gun industry or gun ...

Hypothesis or Hyperbole Gun Control Researchers Balk at Betting on Gun Control

News  

Tuesday, May 30, 2023

Hypothesis or Hyperbole Gun Control Researchers Balk at Betting on Gun Control

Dr. John Lott, Jr., a leading researcher and founder of the Crime Prevention Research Center (CPRC), recently embarked on an unusual personal experiment: how many pro-gun control academics would literally bet in favor of their own ...

Updates to ATF Final Rule on Stabilizing Braces

News  

Monday, January 30, 2023

Updates to ATF Final Rule on Stabilizing Braces

On Monday, January 30, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives’ (ATF) published the final Factoring Criteria for Firearms with Attached “Stabilizing Braces” rule for public inspection in the federal register.

Report: Biden Administration Weaponizes DHS “Anti-Terrorism” Program Against Political Opponents

News  

Tuesday, May 30, 2023

Report: Biden Administration Weaponizes DHS “Anti-Terrorism” Program Against Political Opponents

Those paying attention to official D.C. already know that Joe Biden’s political strategy involves portraying his political rivals, as not just wrong on policy or facts but as altogether illegitimate.

Connecticut:  Gun Control Bill Passes the House and Moves to the Senate

Saturday, May 27, 2023

Connecticut: Gun Control Bill Passes the House and Moves to the Senate

On Thursday, the House passed HB 6667 on a vote of 96-51.  This drastic gun control legislation has a bit of everything.  It contains a ban on open carry and strengthens prohibitions and registration of semi-auto "assault ...

The Disingenuous “Assault Weapons” Ban

News  

Monday, May 8, 2023

The Disingenuous “Assault Weapons” Ban

On April 25, 2023, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee (D) signed HB1240 into law. The legislation is a sweeping, and flagrantly unconstitutional ban on commonly-owned semi-automatic firearms. The law prohibits a host of rifles by name, including America’s ...

Pennsylvania:  House Democrat Majority Passes Gun Control by Slimmest of Margins

Tuesday, May 23, 2023

Pennsylvania: House Democrat Majority Passes Gun Control by Slimmest of Margins

The House Democrat Majority leadership carried through on one of their agenda items late Monday afternoon – attacking law-abiding gun owners.  There are only a couple of sticking points for the gun-grabbers leading the Pennsylvania House.  ...

U.S. House Judiciary Committee Advances Pistol Brace Resolution

News  

Monday, April 24, 2023

U.S. House Judiciary Committee Advances Pistol Brace Resolution

On April 19, the U.S. House of Representatives Judiciary Committee voted 23-15 to advance H.J.Res.44, which would reign in the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ attempt to regulate pistol stabilizing braces. The resolution employs ...

California: Six Anti-Gun Bills Pass Chamber of Origin, Others Still Eligible for Votes

Tuesday, May 30, 2023

California: Six Anti-Gun Bills Pass Chamber of Origin, Others Still Eligible for Votes

Last week, the Assembly and Senate both held floor votes and passed three anti-gun bills each. In addition, other anti-gun bills in the Assembly are still eligible for floor votes ahead of the June 2nd deadline ...

MORE TRENDING +
LESS TRENDING -

More Like This From Around The NRA

NRA ILA

Established in 1975, the Institute for Legislative Action (ILA) is the "lobbying" arm of the National Rifle Association of America. ILA is responsible for preserving the right of all law-abiding individuals in the legislative, political, and legal arenas, to purchase, possess and use firearms for legitimate purposes as guaranteed by the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.