Kathy Hochul Urges Visa, American Express to ‘Do Their Part’ for Gun Control

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) is urging Visa, American Express, and Mastercard to take action and “do their part” for gun control.

On Tuesday Hochul tweeted:

Everyone needs to do their part to combat gun violence. @AmericanExpress, @Mastercard & @Visa should categorize firearm purchases & flag suspicious activity – just like they do for millions of other transactions.

Together we can help stop gun trafficking & keep New Yorkers safe.

— Governor Kathy Hochul (@GovKathyHochul) September 7, 2022

On August 30 Breitbart News noted that New York lawmakers were urging major credit card companies to create a new firearms-specific category code which would in effect flag gun purchases in the state and around the country.

The Gothamist reported the lawmakers sent a letter to the credit card companies in which they urge American Express and Mastercard to move gun purchases out from under a broad tracking category, such as durable goods or miscellaneous, and place them under a new one that refers specifically to guns or gun stores.

The Gothamist summarized:

If credit cards had a code for purchases at gun stores, the same laws would let them flag if someone were spending large amounts of money at one dealer, or traveling to multiple gun retailers in a short amount of time. The legislators say that could ultimately help law enforcement to stop crimes like firearms trafficking, or even to prevent mass shootings.

The push by Hochul and New York state Democrats comes on the heels of Gabby Giffords’ gun control group, Giffords, urging Visa, Mastercard, and American Express to flag gun and ammunition purchases.

AWR Hawkins is an award-winning Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and the writer/curator of Down Range with AWR Hawkins, a weekly newsletter focused on all things Second Amendment, also for Breitbart News. He is the political analyst for Armed American Radio and a Turning Point USA Ambassador. Follow him on Instagram: @awr_hawkins. Reach him at awrhawkins@breitbart.com. You can sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange.