Almost two dozen Republican attorneys generals are pushing back on a plan by major credit card companies to add a new code to categorize firearm sales, claiming it would do more harm than good.
The change in policy by Visa, Mastercard, and American Express was celebrated last week by gun control activists as a way to flag suspicious sales, but the attorneys general argue it misses the mark when it comes to public safety and targets gun owners, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday.
VISA JOINS MASTERCARD AND AMEX IN CATEGORIZING SALES FROM GUN SHOPS
“Categorizing the constitutionally protected right to purchase firearms unfairly singles out law-abiding merchants and consumers alike,” the attorneys general from 23 states wrote in a letter to the credit card companies.
Gun control advocates have pressed the financial industry to play their part in helping rein in mass shootings.
Gun rights groups have argued that the new code system punishes gun buyers and infringes on their Second Amendment rights.
Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti and Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen are spearheading the campaign to get the credit card companies to reverse course.
“We will marshal the full scope of our lawful authority to protect our citizens and consumers from unlawful attempts to undermine their constitutional rights,” their letter read.
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Visa, Mastercard, and American Express have said the new codes won’t step on anyone’s freedoms and said they would not block any purchase based strictly on the type of merchant code attached.
