A new measure passed July 14 by the U.S. House of Representatives is set to prohibit financial institutions from using a new firearm-specific Merchant Category Code (MCC) to track purchases of firearms and ammunition, thereby protecting gun purchaser privacy.

The “Protecting Privacy In Purchasing Act” targets the credit card gun registry scheme

The “Protecting Privacy In Purchasing Act,” sponsored by Rep. Andy Barr, R-Kentucky, Richard Hudson, R-North Carolina, and Riley Moore, R-West Virginia, stops banks and credit card companies from compiling and analyzing sensitive data on law-abiding Americans exercising their Second Amendment rights to own and purchase firearms.

“Law-abiding Kentuckians should not be targeted for exercising their constitutional rights,” Rep. Barr said in a news release announcing the measure’s passage. “Creating a system that flags firearm purchases opens the door to data collection schemes, discrimination against responsible gun owners and a weaponized federal government that could choke off access to financing for gun stores.”

A firearm-specific MCC would essentially create a backdoor gun registry

MCCs are commonly used across the financial industry to categorize transactions. However, applying a distinct identifier to firearm-related purchases has raised concerns about privacy, data security, and potential misuse by both private institutions and government actors.

Rep. Moore: The Biden Administration already pressured banks to hand over customer data

“I’ve spent the better part of my short career in public service fighting financial institutions that push a political agenda,” Rep. Moore said in a press release issued by his office. “Let me be clear: any attempt to collect data on Americans simply exercising their God-given rights is wrong, and I won’t stand for it. We’ve seen how the Biden Administration pressured financial institutions to hand over data on their customers, and the possibility of a private database of gun owners falling into the hands of a future anti-gun administration is unacceptable.”

H.R. 1181 passed the U.S. House with a bipartisan vote of 221-201, and will now proceed to the U.S. Senate for consideration.

NRA: A backdoor registry accessible to the federal government and gun-control groups

Passage of the legislation was heralded by gun-rights organizations, including the National Rifle Association.

“NRA-ILA has advocated for this commonsense protection for a number of years and has written both on this bill and on the issue generally,” NRA’s Institute for Legislative Action wrote in a news alert. “This bill would prevent a backdoor registry of law-abiding gun owners by credit card companies which could then be accessed by the federal government and even third parties like gun control groups.”

John Commerford, executive director of NRA-ILA, said the implementation of Merchant Category Codes to surveil lawful purchases is nothing more than an “ill-conceived attempt to create a de facto national firearms registry.”

“On behalf of millions of NRA members and gun owners nationwide, we thank Representatives Moore, Hudson, and Barr for protecting our Second Amendment rights and our privacy,” Commerford said.

Giffords predictably melts down over the bill’s passage

Predictably, gun-ban organizations, including Giffords, categorized the legislation’s passage with the same gloom and doom they do with any legislation that is favorable to gun owners and the Second Amendment.

“The Merchant Category Code is a critical tool for catching traffickers and mass shooters,” Giffords Executive Director Emma Brown whined in a press release on the measure. “It doesn’t stop anyone from buying a gun or ammunition; it simply alerts authorities about suspicious activity. This is a commonsense way to stop mass shootings. But House Republicans’ vote today wasn’t about common sense — it was about money, and protecting gun company CEOs over American lives.”