Supporters say House action protects gun-owner privacy

(The Center Square) – The U.S. House approved legislation aimed at preventing credit card companies from using merchant category codes to identify firearm retailers, a measure supporters say protects the privacy of lawful gun owners.

HR 1181, the Protecting Privacy in Purchases Act, would prohibit payment card networks from requiring merchant category codes that distinguish firearm retailers from general merchandise or sporting goods stores.

The Department of Justice would enforce the law.

U.S. Rep. Mary Miller, R-Illinois, praised the legislation, saying it would prevent financial institutions from tracking lawful firearm purchases and protect Americans' Second Amendment rights and financial privacy.

John Boch, executive director of Guns Save Life, said he supports the bill but doubts it will ever become law.

"I support the legislation enthusiastically, but I think it's symbolism over substance, because the Democrat Party, the party of gun control in modern-day America, is never going to allow this to pass through the Senate to become law," Boch told The Center Square.

Boch said the legislation would prevent banks and payment card companies from using firearm-specific merchant category codes to identify lawful gun purchases.

"Mary Miller's bill would block all that from happening and punish the banks for discriminating against people making lawful purchases," Boch said.

Merchant category codes are standardized codes used by payment card networks to classify businesses. Supporters of the bill argue firearm-specific codes could be used to monitor or restrict legal gun purchases, while opponents have argued the codes could help identify suspicious purchasing patterns.

"If people want to run their credit cards at a gun store, they should not be discriminated against or tracked or anything like that," Boch said. "Our position is one of freedom and liberty."

Boch said he believes the legislation has no realistic chance of clearing the Senate.

"There's no think about it," he said. "It's not going to get through the Senate, exclamation point, period."

Boch said he does not expect enough Democratic senators to support the measure to overcome the Senate's 60-vote threshold, comparing its prospects to other Republican-backed gun legislation.

Boch also argued that corporations should remain neutral on political issues rather than using financial systems to influence public policy.

"Imagine if the credit card companies were tracking people that paid for their abortions with a credit card," Boch said. "There would be a hue and cry from these same people who support this for tracking gun owners who purchase firearms."

He added that while he supports the legislation, he views it primarily as "red meat for her base," referring to Miller's supporters, because he believes the measure has no path to becoming law under the current Senate makeup.

 The bill now heads to the U.S. Senate for consideration.