WASHINGTON, April 25,
2024 /PRNewswire/ -- NSSF®, The Firearm
Industry Trade Association, praises Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp for signing into law HB 1018, the
Second Amendment Privacy Act. This NSSF-supported law protects the
privacy and sensitive financial information of people purchasing
firearms and ammunition in The Peach State. With Georgia, there are now 14 states with laws that
protect the Second Amendment financial privacy of their
citizens.
The law prohibits financial institutions from requiring the use
of a firearm code, also known as a Merchant Category Code (MCC),
from being assigned to firearm and ammunition purchases at retail
when using a credit card. The law also forbids discriminating
against a firearm retailer as a result of the assigned or
non-assignment of a firearm code and disclosing the protected
financial information. Additionally, the law prohibits keeping or
causing to be kept any list, record or registry of private firearm
ownership.
"Governor Brian Kemp's signature
on the Second Amendment Privacy Act is yet another example of his
firm commitment to protecting the Second Amendment rights of all
Georgians. Citizens in Georgia
won't worry that 'woke' Wall Street banks, credit card companies
and payment processors will collude with government entities to spy
on their private finances to illegally place them on gun control
watchlists," said Lawrence G. Keane,
NSSF Senior Vice President & General Counsel. "NSSF is grateful
House Speaker Jon Burns, Lieutenant
Governor Burt Jones, Representative
Jason Ridley and state Senator
Carden Summers for bringing this
crucial legislation to become law. No American should fear being
placed on a government watchlist simply for exercising their
Constitutionally-protected rights to keep and bear arms."
NSSF worked closely with Georgia
legislators to protect private and legal firearm and ammunition
purchases from political exploitation. The Second Amendment Privacy
Act is designed to protect the privacy of lawful and private
firearm and ammunition purchases from being abused for political
purposes by corporate financial service providers and unlawful
government search and seizure of legal and private financial
transactions.
The U.S. Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network
(FinCEN) admitted to U.S. Sen. Tim
Scott (R-S.C.) in a letter that it violated the Fourth
Amendment rights of law-abiding citizens that protect against
illegal search and seizure when it collected the credit card
purchase history from banks and credit card companies of
individuals who purchased firearms and ammunition in the days
surrounding Jan. 6, 2020. Treasury's
FinCEN had no cause, and sought the information without a warrant,
to place these law-abiding citizens on a government watchlist only
because they exercised their Second Amendment rights to lawfully
purchase firearms and ammunition.
The idea of a firearm-retailer specific MCC was borne from
antigun New York Times' columnist
Andrew Ross Sorkin and Amalgamated
Bank, which has been called "The Left's Private Banker" and
bankrolls the Democratic National Committee and several antigun
politicians. Amalgamated Bank lobbied the Swiss-based International
Organization for Standardization (ISO) for the code's creation.
NSSF has called on Congress to investigate Amalgamated Bank's role
in manipulating the ISO standard setting process.
Sorkin admitted creating a firearm-retailer specific MCC would
be a first step to creating a national firearm registry, which is
forbidden by federal law.
Georgia joins a growing list of
states that are standing against the invasion of financial privacy
when exercising Second Amendment rights, including Tennessee, Iowa,
Kentucky, Wyoming, Indiana,
Utah, Florida, Idaho,
Mississippi, Montana, North Dakota,
Texas and West Virginia. These states passed laws
protecting citizens' Second Amendment privacy. Other states are
considering similar legislation. U.S. Sen. Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.) introduced S. 4075, the
NSSF-supported Protecting Privacy in Purchases Act in the Senate.
U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.)
introduced H.R. 7450, with the same title in the U.S. House of
Representatives. California's Gov.
Gavin Newsom signed a law requiring
the use of a firearm-retailer specific MCC and Colorado passed similar legislation that is
awaiting Gov. Jared Polis'
consideration.
About NSSF
NSSF is the trade association for the firearm industry. Its
mission is to promote, protect and preserve hunting and the
shooting sports. Formed in 1961, NSSF has a membership of thousands
of manufacturers, distributors, firearm retailers, shooting ranges,
sportsmen's organizations and publishers nationwide. For more
information, visit nssf.org.
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SOURCE NATIONAL SHOOTING SPORTS FOUNDATION