Tennessee Lawmakers Propose Legislation Banning Banks, Credit Card Companies from Tracking Purchases of Guns and Ammo

State Rep. Todd Warner (R-Chapel Hill) and State Sen. Joey Hensley (R-Hohenwald) introduced legislation on Wednesday that would prohibit banks, credit card companies and other financial institutions from tracking purchases of firearms.

Warner (pictured above, left) filed HB 1784 and Hensley (pictured above, right) filed SB 1702 to make it “an unfair or deceptive trade practice” for any “financial institution to require a firearms retailer to use firearms-specific transaction codes” after the industry began creating a new credit card merchant category code for purchases of firearms and ammunition, which they claimed would help identify dangerous gun owners or suspicious transactions.

Payment processors announced plans to track firearm transactions in 2022, less than one week after New York Attorney General Letitia James and California Attorney General Rob Bonta sent letters to chief executives of American Express, Mastercard, and Visa that requested they support a new merchant category code for guns and ammunition. The new merchant code plan was gained the immediate opposition of the National Rifle Association and National Shooting Sports Foundation.

The industry’s move to adopt new firearms merchant codes was previously paused in March 2023, when payment companies including American Express, Mastercard, and Visa abandoned their plans after legislation banning tracking of those who buy and sell weapons and ammunition passed in Mississippi, Oklahoma, Texas, Florida, and West Virginia. The Tenth Amendment Center notes that similar legislation also exists in Idaho, North Dakota, and Montana.

The think tank reported the new merchant code was developed by the International Standards Organization, which is based in Switzerland, and that federal lawmakers expressed “a clear government expectation that networks will utilize the new Merchant Category Code to conduct mass surveillance of constitutionally protected firearms and ammunition purchases in cooperation with law enforcement.”

“The more states that ban such codes, the more likely this program gets scrapped permanently,” the Tenth Amendment Center suggested.

After the move to adopt the new merchant codes went public in 2022, John Harris of the Tennessee Firearms Association suggested during an appearance on The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy that consumers “pay cash” whenever possible.

Yes, Every Kid

“If you can trade chickens for them, trade chickens,” said Harris, “If you can write a check and avoid, that three percent surcharge that a lot of merchants now charge for using a credit card, save everybody three percent. But absolutely, if you can avoid the credit card, just like Dave Ramsey says, do it.”

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Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, and also reports for The Georgia Star News, The Virginia Star, and the Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “State Rep. Todd Warner and State Senator Joey Hensley” by State Rep Todd Warner.

 

 

 

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3 Thoughts to “Tennessee Lawmakers Propose Legislation Banning Banks, Credit Card Companies from Tracking Purchases of Guns and Ammo”

  1. Art Wiggins

    The unconstitutional government surveillance of financial transactions is SO MUCH LARGER than what is being proposed by these fine statesman’s bills. The main stream media will never report these things. Most people do not have the time to research or investigate the depths that the Federal Government has gone. And when you do, it will turn your stomach.
    Look what has just been published by the US House of Representatives Judiciary Committee. And look specifically at the Key Bank document included in the referenced “Read the full letter to Noah Bishoff ” link at the bottom of the page: https://judiciary.house.gov/media/press-releases/federal-government-flagged-transactions-using-terms-maga-and-trump-financial

    Excerpts of the Letter to Noah Bishoff:

    “The Committee and Select Subcommittee have obtained documents indicating that following January 6, 2021, FinCEN distributed materials to financial institutions that, among other things, outline the ‘typologies’ of various persons of interest and provide financial institutions with suggested search terms and Merchant Category Codes (MCCs) for identifying transactions on behalf of federal law enforcement. These materials included a document recommending the use of generic terms like ‘TRUMP’ and ‘MAGA’ to ‘search Zelle payment messages’ as well as a ‘prior FinCEN analysis’ of ‘Lone Actor/Homegrown Violent Extremism Indicators.’ According to this analysis, FinCEN warned financial institutions of ‘extremism’ indicators that include ‘transportation charges, such as bus tickets, rental cars, or plane tickets, for travel to areas with no apparent purpose,’ or ‘the purchase of books (including religious texts) and subscriptions to other media containing extremist views.’ In other words, FinCEN urged large financial institutions to comb through the private transactions of their customers for suspicious charges on the basis of protected political and religious expression.”

    “In addition, the Committee and Select Subcommittee have obtained documents showing that FinCEN distributed slides, prepared by a financial institution, explaining how other financial institutions can use MCC codes to detect customers whose transactions may reflect ‘potential active shooters, [and] who may include dangerous International Terrorists / Domestic Terrorists / Homegrown Violent Extremists (“Lone Wolves”).’ For example, the slides instruct financial institutions to query for transactions using certain MCC codes such as ‘3484: Small Arms,’ ‘5091: Sporting and Recreational Goods and Supplies,’ and the keywords ‘Cabela’s,’ and ‘Dick’s Sporting Goods,’ among several others. Despite these transactions having no apparent criminal nexus—and, in fact, relate to Americans exercising their Second Amendment rights—FinCEN seems to have adopted a characterization of these Americans as potential threat actors. This kind of pervasive financial surveillance, carried out in coordination with and at the request of federal law enforcement, into Americans’ private transactions is alarming and raises serious doubts about FinCEN’s respect for fundamental civil liberties.”

  2. Rocky Top

    Tennesseans should start buying their guns and ammo with gold and silver since our Constitution states this is what our real money is. Put these wackos who want to control our purchases out of business.

  3. Sim

    The Bill of Rights is prohibited from any legislation by the lack of “Enumerated power” and “Expressly Stipulated Rights”,
    So “ANY LAW” that exist is a VIOLATION OF LAW” it’s self.
    Gun groups are only trying to limit restrictions to a tolerable level rather than totally eliminate the restrictions the constitution demands.
    Once they can set a precedence’s in legislating the Second Amendment out of existence, all the other rights will soon disappear as well.

    Give the Devil and inch, he’ll take a mile, play with fire, you get burned.

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