(TheLibertyRevolution.com)- Republican attorney generals from 23 red states have reportedly requested that credit card companies stop creating track codes for gun purchases, citing an infringement of consumers’ rights to purchase firearms. The attorney generals sent a letter to Visa, Mastercard, and American Express to say that adding the code would misuse consumer data and infringe on the rights of law-abiding citizens.
“Categorizing the constitutionally protected right to purchase firearms unfairly singles out law-abiding merchants and consumers alike,” the letter read, WSJ reported.
Companies earlier this month said that they will add a merchant-category code (MCC) for firearms retailers, which resulted in Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti and Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen leading the effort send the letter to them in opposition.
The new MCC has reportedly been approved by an international entity that set standards for the payment industry.
“We will marshal the full scope of our lawful authority to protect our citizens and consumers from unlawful attempts to undermine their constitutional rights,” the AGs letter said.
Despite resistance to the new MCC code, it has garnered support from gun-control advocates who want to curb mass shootings. They argue that the new code could help to identify suspicious firearms sales. Gun-rights advocates, on the other hand, could unfairly prevent legal firearms purchases.
The major credit card companies have come out to say that they will not stop firearm purchases and that they will not prevent purchases to be blocked based solely on the code.
“We do not believe private companies should serve as moral arbiters,” Visa stated.
“If we identify unauthorized blocking or intentional restrictions of legal commerce, we will take swift action to address such activity,” Mastercard said recently.
Republican Sen. Roger Marshall also recently sent a letter to CEOs of the three credit card companies for infringing on the second amendment, “condemning them for removing gun sales from being categorized as ‘general merchandise’ and instead placing gun sales into a separate category.”
