A coalition of 24 states’ attorneys general, including Alaska Attorney General Treg Taylor, signed a letter alerting the chief executive officers of three major credit card companies that the recent creation of a “merchant category code” for the processing of firearms purchases from gun stores is potentially a violation of consumer protection and antitrust laws.
Visa, Mastercard, and American Express decided earlier this month to ‘separately categorize sales at gun shops.’ The decision means any purchase of a firearm with a credit card will be tracked and that information may be passed to the government. It is a de facto national gun registry.
In the letter to the CEOs of American Express, Mastercard, and Visa, the attorneys general say the monitoring and tracking of firearms purchases creates a “list of gun buyers” and creates the obvious risk that law-abiding consumers’ information will be obtained and misused by those who oppose Americans exercising their Second Amendment rights.
“Giant financial companies must not use their combined market power to circumvent our representative democracy,” said Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti. “As Attorney General, I protect the people of Tennessee from corporate collusion that threatens to undermine their constitutional rights. Working together with my colleagues from other states, we will marshal the full scope of our lawful authority to stop this abuse.”
Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen said “it invites potential future invasions of consumer privacy and further coordination between corporations and government agencies to erode Americans’ fundamental right to keep and bear arms.”
The new code for gun stores the credit card companies intend to adopt is the result of transnational collusion between large corporations leveraging their market power to further progress toward their desired social outcomes. Activists pressured the International Organization for Standardization to adopt this policy as a means of circumventing and undermining the American legislative process.
“Press releases from public officials make clear that the new merchant code was created and adopted in concert with various state actors, which may additionally create the potential for both civil and criminal liability for conspiracy to deprive Americans of their civil rights,” the coalition of attorneys general wrote. “Social policy should be debated and determined within our political institutions. Americans are tired of seeing corporate leverage used to advance political goals that cannot muster basic democratic support. The Second Amendment is a fundamental right, but it’s also a fundamental American value. Our financial institutions should stop lending their market power to those who wish to attack that value.”
To read the letter, click here.
The following state attorneys general joined Tennessee and Montana: Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Wyoming, West Virginia.
The left will get its gun registry one way or another.
I worry that Congresswoman Mary Peltola would stand up to anti-Second Amendment Democrats if there were legislation introduced to curtail this wanton limit on the Bill of Rights by banks! Banks do not monitor alcohol sales using credit cards. Banks do not even track felony drug convictions to make sure gang members do not use credit cards and debit cards. Note that these are the same banking interests that want to ban arctic oil development and dismantle the Trans-Alaska Pipeline.
Search warrants are required for reviewing cresit card purchases. Tracking codes would allow easier screening of large purchases of munitions and probable cause for a search warrant. This has zero to do with the Second Amendment and 100% to do with trying to stop mass murder and law breaking
Sorry there, goofball… you’re wrong again. Mass murderers, felons, and other law breakers don’t buy their guns from commercial sources as they’d have to pass the screening set up specifically to catch them. It often doesn’t work but then again neither would another law meant to serve the same purpose.
Frank you just negated your own argument. Providing government with a list of tracked purchasing data at firearms stores to facilitate a search warrant, undermines the second amendment completely, as purchasing firearms and ammunition are perfectly legal. A firearm purchase IS NOT probable cause. Preemptively searching gun store customers homes, while no crime has been committed, are the actions of a police state, not a society where every individual has inalienable rights. This sounds like the dystopic movie “Minority Report” with Tom Cruise. Please also note that the term “large purchases” is not defined. This is a backdoor to tracking all individuals, who exercise their right to purchase a firearm.
Sigh. Again, you fundamentally miss the boat. Let me walk you through it.
-the 2nd Amendment makes it painfully clear there is no infringing on the people’s right to bear arms. This includes using credit cards to track purchase information.
-the amount of ammunition a person has is not the business of the government.
-the Constitution, pesky as it is to regressives, is also clear in regard to search and seizure, which the faux gun registry is for. Biden himself has made that clear. Worse, the Constitution also makes it clear a presumption of innocence (IRS non withstanding). That means no peaking without compelling reason.
-the Constitution does not have a carve out for “mass murder and law breaking”.
It is not the job of the Constitution to prevent “mass murder and lawbreaking”. It is the job of local municipalities WITHIN the Constitution to do so.
Even better. SCOTUS has ruled law enforcement does not have a legal requirement to protect anyone.
Just for giggles. Places in the US with the strictest gun restrictions have the most violent gun crime. DC, Chicago, LA, Minneapolis, and on and on.
Even more fun. In London, where it’s as close to a gun free zone as possible, there was a machete riot involving over 100 people. Sweden has grenade attacks. Stabbing are way up all over Europe.
If you are looking for a world where these is zero risk of bad things, I suggest trying to return to the womb and hope against abortion.
Paraphrasing Ben Franklin: Those who surrender freedom for security deserve none.
Your fear of a free, Constitutionally protected life, does not come close to overruling my rights.
You really wanna do something to make your community safer? Stop driving.
You are getting worse at this every day.
Not that I’m for it, but I believe the second amendment allows persons to keep and bear arms and I guess that would also mean ammunition since an unloaded firearm is it useful to anyone. I think this credit card tracking scheme let’s the government know where the guns are. Maybe just in case they want to pull a night of the Long knives. I think they can do that based on all those Homeland security things that happened after 9/11 when they were able to infringe on our privacy like cell phone conversations, all those cameras at every intersection and at every ATM. Oh no they can see who’s getting their own money out of a bank. But all these things could be used to finance terrorism at least that’s what they say. So I think you’re wrong about the credit card lumping it into the second amendment. But like I said first I’m not for it I don’t want if it’s knowing anything that I’m doing. I don’t want them knowing that I ran my air conditioner at 72° instead of 75. I don’t want them knowing that I ate a big old juicy ribeye instead of some plant-based crap. Some things the government have no business knowing but biden’s government wants to know all that and put it all on a supercomputer complex in Utah.
Arms are defined as the weapon itself AND any materials/supplies required for operation and maintenance.
Sorry Frank, you know not what you are saying. Credit Card companies working directly for federal law enforcement to spy on Americans is wrong on so many levels. Privacy violations and due process violations galore. Try reading the 4th Amendment in the Constitution that the DOJ and FBI constantly violate.
This has EVERYTHING to do with the 4th Amendment, as well as the 6th, and likely the 5th Amendment as well.
One has a fundamental human right to be secure in their papers and their possessions. They also have a fundamental human right to know what accusations are lodged against them and who is making those accusations.
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By tracking purchases “just in case a mass murderer” is buying too many guns and ammo, you are violating the rights protected under the 4th and 6th Amendments.
Alaska is fortunate to have a governor and an attorney general who respect the entire Bill of Rights, and who will also energetically defend the 2nd Amendment rights of the people from the encroachments that are devised by our foolish or wicked adversaries. Thank you, A.G. Taylor.
Fascism: the fusion of governmental and corporate power.
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Tell me, who are the REAL fascists here?
Hint: it is NOT libertarians or conservatives.
Alaska has a strong 4th Amendment. VISA has no business infringing on that.
Well, obviously this is to stop crime.
After all, criminals will always use their personal credit card to purchase firearms at FFL dealers and storefronts. Why buy that stolen gun from that guy on the street corner for $50 when you can spend $500+ and get a brand new gun. It is just crazy talk to think you might have to throw the gun away as you are fleeing the crime scene.
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This is not going to stop a single crime or criminal, nor will it help the police track a lawbreaker down. Change my mind.
Exactly right.
There is not a single (anti) gun law that has, or can stop a crime the way liberals think they do.
Shall.
Not.
Be.
Infringed.
Funny how all the gun laws in France did nothing to protect Charlie Hebdo.
Bad people determined to do bad things will do them.
Yes they will. The Nazis found that out when the French underground aka the bad guys according to the Nazis, were able to acquire weapons. I would just about bet that these open carry states like Texas scare the hell out of the current administration.
FWIW anyone who carries openly is stupid. If you don’t know why, I can’t help you. Almost everyone exercising that so called option is just participating in a “look at me show.” Dumb.
I will give you my gun, when you pry it from my cold dead hand.
Thank you, Governor Dunleavy, and AG Taylor.
The Honorable Treg Taylor ????
For now, just pay cash. Or use a prepaid debit/visa card. There are persistant rumors about going cashless, and this plays into it. If all purchases have to be made with a card, and face recognition, you can be controlled of what, when, and where you purchase items. This coud be food, fuel, anything.
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