More than 100 Republican representatives signed letters that went to the CEOs of Visa, Mastercard, and American Express yesterday, asking them why they flip-flopped to support recategorizing gun sales merchant codes and which gun sales they plan to flag as “suspicious.”
Breitbart News noted that Visa issued an announcement September 10 that it would recategorize gun sale merchant codes after the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) decided to create a firearm-specific sales code.
Visa’s decision, followed by Mastercard and American Express, came amid growing pressure from New York State Democrat lawmakers, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D), and gun control groups like Giffords.
More than 100 GOP representatives responded to this decision with a September 14 letter in which they point out that the ISO opposed the idea of recategorizing gun sale merchant codes as recently 2021.
Moreover, the lawmakers note that the ISO explained its opposition by noting that recategorization “would unduly burden smaller firearm retailers.”
The representatives also ask the credit card company CEOs how they plan to use the new categorization for the purpose of flagging “suspicious” gun purchases.
What will make a gun purchase “suspicious”? the capacity of the gun’s magazine? The caliber of the firearm? The presence of the letters AR or AK in the firearm’s name?
The Republican legislators also asked the CEOs if they have developed a plan to inform specific customers in the event that a gun purchase by said customer has been flagged.
They added, “If not, why does American Express…[Visa, and Mastercard] not believe this notification is important to the consumer?”
Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY), who is leading the effort against the recategorization, told Breitbart News, “I am adamantly opposed to this attempt to track the information of law-abiding gun owners and am calling out this attempt to infringe on our Constitutional, Second Amendment rights.”
She added, “As Far Left gun grabbing politicians seek to further erode our Constitution, I’m working to ensure credit card companies are not aiding in their anti-Second Amendment agenda. I am demanding immediate answers to protect American citizens’ ability to exercise their Constitutional right to bear arms without fear that the Far Left is tracking their information or that this information will be used against them. In the face of the unconstitutional anti-gun agenda, I will always stand up for New Yorkers and all Americans’ rights.”
There is no question that credit card companies are being urged to get into the business of helping Democrats stifle certain gun sales.
New York Attorney General Letitia James has been very clear: “These credit card companies must now take the next step and flag suspicious transactions on gun and ammunition sales like they do for fraud and money laundering.”
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. AWR Hawkins holds a PhD in Military History from Texas Tech University. His PhD is focused on the Vietnam War (brown water navy), U.S. Navy since Inception, the Civil War, and Early Modern Europe. Follow him on Instagram: @awr_hawkins. You can sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com.
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