House Passes Barr-Led Bill Protecting Second Amendment Privacy

Washington, D.C.— Today, U.S. Congressman Andy Barr (R-KY-06) helped lead key legislation protecting the Second Amendment through the House of Representatives. Barr’s legislation, the “Protecting Privacy in Purchases Act,” prohibits financial institutions from using a new Merchant Category Code (MCC) to track purchases of firearms and ammunition. This legislation 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,” said Congressman Barr . “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.” “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,” said John Commerford, Executive Director of NRA-ILA. “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.” Merchant Category Codes are commonly used across the financial industry to catogrize transactions, but applying a district identifier to firearm related purchases has raised concerns about privacy, data security, and potential misure by both private institutions and government actors. ###