Tennessee Bans Credit Card Codes for Firearms

Lawmakers in Tennessee passed legislation last week that prohibits credit card companies from tracking gun-related purchases. Tennessee has become the 8th state to pass this type of law, gearing up for what is likely to become a national battle between gun control advocates and firearms rights supporters.

The Bill

On April 23. 2024, Tennessee’s Governor Bill Lee (a Republican) signed Senate Bill 2223 into law. The bill, known colloquially as the “Second Amendment Financial Privacy Act,” prohibits credit card companies from using a new Merchant Category Code (MCC) to track gun-related purchases. Merchants can’t deny a purchase simply because it relates to a firearm, either.

Tennessee’s law also goes a step further than other states that have passed similar measures. Specifically, the new law prohibits any state- or municipal-level government agencies from keeping any record of privately owned guns. Notably, it does not prohibit the ATF from doing so, as that would put state laws directly at odds with the National Firearms Act (NFA),.

The Context

Credit card companies use MCCs to categorize different types of purchases, including everything from cars to food. Firearms currently fall under the MCC code 5941, “Sporting Goods.”

So what’s the big deal about MCCs? Gun rights activists have called them out gun-specific MCCs as being a form of backdoor gun control.

Gun-related MCCs are the result of California passing a law stating that all credit card companies who want to do business there must implement them by 2025. Colorado lawmakers are currently considering a similar bill.

In response to states passing these types of law, major credit card companies have paused implementing gun-related MCCs. This is a pretty big deal, since the International Standards Organization (ISO) already approved a code to track gun purchases internationally in 2022. In other words, this plan is already in motion, and current trends are causing the global financial system to rethink their strategy.

The Debrief

Earlier this month, I wrote about how Alabama lawmakers were considering a bill that would make it illegal for credit card companies to track gun-related purchases with a special code.

Now, it looks like Tennessee will beat Alabama to the punch implementing this kind of rule. They’ll join 7 other states that have already passed similar measures into law. Utah, the 7th state, passed its law earlier this year.

This is a huge win for gun rights advocates and American gun owners in general. But it’s a struggle that’s far from over. We’ll keep monitoring the situation and reporting as it develops.