On Thursday, Rep. Kat Cammack (R-FL-03) joined House Republican Conference Chair Elise Stefanik (R-NY-21) and 101 Republican colleagues in sending a letter to the CEOs of Visa, American Express, and Mastercard regarding their implementation of a classification of gun sales. The letter seeks to ensure that this is not used to track law-abiding gun owners or infringe on their constitutional rights.
The letter points out that previous attempts to create firearm-specific codes have been denied, even on appeal, and warnings suggest a new code would unduly burden smaller firearm retailers. As credit card companies implement these codes, the letter requests answers to multiple questions, including whether Amex, MasterCard, and Visa support lawful purchases and protect the privacy and legal decisions of their consumers regarding this implementation.
“To say it’s concerning that these major credit card companies are now tracking the lawful sale of guns through their customers’ transactions would be a massive understatement,” said Rep. Cammack. “Visa, American Express, and Mastercard are used by nearly every debit and credit cardholder in the U.S, and the American people deserve answers about the new merchant codes and the companies’ roles in reviewing Americans’ purchase decisions. I’m proud to defend Floridians’ and Americans’ Second Amendment rights.”
“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,” said Rep. Stefanik. “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.”
The full text of the letter can be found here.
