{"id":1709916,"date":"2022-10-25T08:19:42","date_gmt":"2022-10-25T12:19:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1709916"},"modified":"2022-10-25T08:34:26","modified_gmt":"2022-10-25T12:34:26","slug":"big-banks-and-credit-card-giants-greenlight-plan-to-track-gun-store-purchases","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/big-banks-and-credit-card-giants-greenlight-plan-to-track-gun-store-purchases\/","title":{"rendered":"Big Banks and Credit Card Giants Greenlight Plan to Track Gun Store Purchases"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">26<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fbig-banks-and-credit-card-giants-greenlight-plan-to-track-gun-store-purchases%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1709916&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/Amalgamated-Bank.jpg\" class=\"ff-og-image-inserted\" alt=\"image\" \/><\/div>\n<p>Last month, gun control advocates <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnbc.com\/2022\/09\/12\/gun-law-advocates-hail-credit-card-code-as-way-to-cut-down-suspicious-sales.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">hailed<\/a> the creation and adoption of a new sales code targeted at identifying purchases made at U.S. gun stores. The code was promoted as a way to help banks and credit card companies identify and \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.everytown.org\/press\/everytown-applauds-new-banking-merchant-codes-to-crack-down-on-illegal-gun-sales\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">recognize dangerous firearm purchasing trends<\/a>,\u201d thus improving public safety. It won\u2019t.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>If anything, this new system, which is susceptible to widespread abuse, could have dangerous consequences. Thankfully, Republican members of Congress are taking steps to resist its implementation.<\/p>\n<p>Republican Sens. Bill Hagerty and Tom Cotton <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cotton.senate.gov\/news\/press-releases\/cotton-colleagues-warn-amalgamated-bank-for-abusing-financial-system-to-infringe-on-second-amendment\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">announced<\/a> that they led a group of Senate Republicans in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hagerty.senate.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Hagerty-Cotton-Amalgamated-Bank-Letter_FINAL.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">penning a letter<\/a> to Amalgamated Bank President and CEO Priscilla Sims Brown \u201ccriticizing the bank\u2019s manipulation of an international rules organization to force U.S. financial services firms to categorize gun purchases.\u201d This is the latest move in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scag.gov\/media\/hbhpl2pf\/second-amendment-iso-merchant-code-multistate-letter-final-2.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">political back<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/oag.ca.gov\/system\/files\/attachments\/press-docs\/Multi-State%20Letter%20in%20Support%20of%20MCC.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">and forth<\/a> that began when Amalgamated Bank, which <a href=\"https:\/\/www.amalgamatedbank.com\/mission-values\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">self-describes<\/a> as \u201cAmerica\u2019s socially responsible bank\u201d and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.opensecrets.org\/donor-lookup\/results?name=Amalgamated+bank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">donates<\/a> thousands of dollars to Democrats and left-wing political groups, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.amalgamatedbank.com\/news\/amalgamated-bank-petition-new-code-gun-and-ammunition-stores-has-been-approved-international\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">successfully petitioned<\/a> for the creation of the new sales code.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The senators\u2019 letter accuses the bank of \u201cfully embrac[ing] an anti-firearms agenda\u201d while forcing \u201cradical and discriminatory policies on the entire financial system.\u201d While the letter concerningly implies that Congress has some authority to legislate \u201cfundamental rights,\u201d the senators make their opposition to the bank\u2019s actions very clear, promising congressional action: \u201cYou should consider this notice to retain all communications involving your role in ISO\u2019s categorization scheme, and you should anticipate testifying before Congress in the near future.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The ISO (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.iso.org\/about-us.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">International Organization for Standardization<\/a>), is a non-governmental international organization that establishes various market standards, including codes for payment transactions, and set forth the new merchant category code (MCC) for credit and debit transactions at U.S. gun stores. The MCC applies to all transactions conducted with a merchant identified as a gun store. Previously, under this system, purchases made in gun stores would be identified as \u201cgeneral merchandise.\u201d Breaking with this established tradition in favor of the newer regulations, Visa, Mastercard, and American Express <a href=\"https:\/\/www.msn.com\/en-us\/news\/other\/gun-law-advocates-hail-new-credit-card-code-as-a-way-to-cut-down-on-suspicious-sales\/ar-AA11Kndz\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">stated<\/a> they will adopt the code.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>But what does this new merchant code really do? Despite what activists may claim, the MCC provides little (if any) insight into purchases made at gun stores.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The code does not target gun or ammo purchases; instead, it applies to all purchases at merchants marked as \u201cgun stores.\u201d Say you go to a gun store and only buy a T-shirt and a bag of coffee, those transactions will be marked as gun store purchases. There is no way of knowing from the code whether a gun or ammo was purchased. The data is essentially meaningless.<\/p>\n<p>But let\u2019s pretend for a minute that the code only applies to gun and ammo purchases, would it improve public safety? Certainly not. Proponents of the MCC have failed to identify any way that dangerous individuals\u2019 buying patterns differ from those of peaceable individuals. Plenty of peaceable individuals collect guns and stash away ammo, which they would never use to harm innocent people while some individuals inflict violence on people and communities after purchasing a single firearm and a relatively small amount of ammo. There are no \u201ctrends\u201d that make these behaviors identifiable.<\/p>\n<p>There is no way to discern whether a person is peaceable or not from the amount of money they spend at a coded \u201cgun store,\u201d but gun control advocates insist there is and that is what makes the MCC dangerous.<\/p>\n<p>Data can be dangerous in the wrong hands, and claiming data says something that it doesn\u2019t can empower deceitful propagandists to spin whatever narrative they wish while claiming empirical support for their arguments. It can allow activist financial institutions to target nonviolent, law-abiding individuals simply because those individuals choose to spend their money at gun stores.<\/p>\n<p>In other words, the danger here doesn\u2019t necessarily come from the code change itself \u2014 which is mostly benign. Instead, it comes from how opportunists will seek to twist and use the data to say something that it doesn\u2019t and to target peaceable people without cause. And it becomes even more dangerous if the government seeks to use that data to conduct investigations.<\/p>\n<p>States such as California and New York are <a href=\"https:\/\/oag.ca.gov\/news\/press-releases\/attorney-general-bonta-release-additional-gun-violence-data-researchers-initiate\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">already all too happy to use<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/petersuciu\/2022\/09\/12\/social-media-now-used-to-vet-gun-applicants-in-new-york-state\/?sh=7755e0f71644\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">dig through your data<\/a> to find some reason to deny you your natural self-defense rights. And we\u2019ve already seen the ATF conduct <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ammoland.com\/2022\/07\/atf-conduct-surprise-inspection-at-mans-home-without-warrant-video\/#axzz7ZWC3fGbK\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">\u201cchecks\u201d<\/a> on perfectly legal and ordinary gun purchases while the federal government seeks to impose mandatory law enforcement\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.thetruthaboutguns.com\/gun-control-advocates-targeting-nics-denials-with-mandatory-cop-visits\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">\u201cfollow-ups\u201d<\/a> on all failed firearm background checks.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>We must remain vigilant against the push for privatized gun control. Just because financial institutions are free to set the terms for their services, doesn\u2019t mean those policies aren\u2019t potentially dangerous or susceptible to abuse. Any attempt to militate banks and credit card companies against gun purchases makes it more difficult for people to protect themselves and their families.<\/p>\n<p>Even more importantly, we must ensure that the government is not empowered to use or rely on MCC purchase data. We cannot stand by while more states go the way of California and New York, freely probing, bending, and disclosing data as they see fit. Especially when activists will claim the MCC conveys information it doesn\u2019t.<\/p>\n<p>While the MCC itself may not be dangerous, the way that gun control advocates want to use it certainly is. And it remains to be seen how Congress will respond, should the Senate Republicans\u2019 promise of congressional oversight come to bear.\u00a0<\/p>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\" \/>\n<div class=\"article-author-description fst-italic\">\n  Cody J. Wisniewski <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/TheWizardofLawz%E2%80%9C\">(@TheWizardofLawz)<\/a><br \/>\n is a Senior Attorney for Constitutional Litigation with Firearms Policy Coalition. His work has appeared in the Washington Times, the Washington Examiner, National Review, Daily Wire, and more. He primarily focuses on Second Amendment issues but is happy so long as he is reminding the government of its enumerated powers and constitutional limitations.<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Last month, gun control advocates hailed the creation and adoption of a new sales code targeted at identifying purchases made at U.S. gun stores. The code was promoted as a<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1709810,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[547],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1709916","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-bongino-report"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1709916","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1709916"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1709916\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1709810"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1709916"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1709916"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1709916"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}