WASHINGTON, June 18,
2024 /PRNewswire/ -- NSSF®, The Firearm
Industry Trade Association, applauds Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry for signing SB 301, the
Second Amendment Financial Privacy Act, into law last week.
This NSSF-supported law protects the privacy and sensitive
financial information of people purchasing firearms and ammunition
in The Pelican State. With Louisiana,
there are now 16 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 Jeff Landry's signature
on the Second Amendment Financial Privacy Act is a powerful
statement that the Second Amendment rights of Louisianans are not
negotiable. This law will protect Louisiana's citizens from unlawful intrusion on
their private purchases when purchasing firearms and ammunition
with a payment card," said Darren
LaSorte, NSSF's Director, Government Relations – State
Affairs. "'Woke' Wall Street banks, credit card companies and
payment processors won't be able to collude with government
entities to spy on Louisianans' private finances when they exercise
their rights. No American should fear being placed on a government
watchlist because they choose their Constitutionally-protected
rights to keep and bear arms."
NSSF worked closely with Louisiana
legislators to protect private and legal firearm and ammunition
purchases from political exploitation. The Second Amendment
Financial 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. NSSF is grateful to state Sen. Blake Miguez and state Rep. Troy Romero for guiding this legislation to
passage and enactment.
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 probable 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 for political purposes.
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.
Louisiana joins a growing list of
states that are standing against the invasion of financial privacy
when exercising Second Amendment rights, including Alabama, Georgia,
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.
Only two states – California and Colorado – have laws requiring payment
card processors to report purchases by a firearm retailer-specific
MCC. New York's legislature passed similar legislation,
which is expected to be signed into law by Gov. Kathy Hochul.
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 over 10,5000 members
including manufacturers, distributors, firearms retailers, shooting
ranges, sportsmen's organizations and publishers nationwide. For
more information, visit nssf.org.
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SOURCE NATIONAL SHOOTING SPORTS FOUNDATION