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February 12, 2025
NSSF Hails Rep. Riley Moore’s Protecting Privacy in Purchases Act Introduction
WASHINGTON, D.C. — NSSF®, The Firearm Industry Trade Association, hails the introduction of H.R. 1181, the Protecting Privacy in Purchases Act, introduced by U.S. Rep. Riley Moore (R-W.V.), which would ban the use of a firearm retailer-specific Merchant Category Code (MCC). The legislation would protect the Second Amendment privacy of firearm and ammunition purchasers from financial service and payment card providers compiling purchase history that has already proven to be exploited by the federal government for political purposes.
Rep. Moore is joined by Congressmen Richard Hudson (R-N.C.), Andy Barr (R-Ky.) and 23 additional co-sponsors.
“The need to protect law-abiding gun owners from discrimination by ‘woke’ banks peering into their legal and private firearm and ammunition purchases has never been greater. The Biden administration proved it was willing to ignore the law and use government pressure to coerce banks to illegally spy on Americans to create government watchlists,” said Lawrence G. Keane, NSSF Senior Vice President and General Counsel. “This legislation, introduced by Congressmen and women dedicated to preserving financial privacy and Second Amendment rights, would rein in federal overreach to use the private financial transactions of law-abiding citizens against them for political means. No American should be concerned that the federal government or bank is employing this scheme that could result in an unfounded and baseless Suspicious Activity Report as potential criminal activity. This scheme to exploit Merchant Category Codes, concocted by gun control cheerleaders, weaponizes an individual’s finances and their free exercise of Second Amendment rights to wrongly identify them as a criminal-in-waiting. NSSF is grateful for this principled leadership to stand up for Constitutionally-protected rights and against special interests and big government lawmakers whose goal it is to monitor and deny lawful transactions, by law-abiding Americans.”
The need for a federal policy has become necessary since 18 states have enacted similar legislation to protect the privacy of firearm and ammunition purchasers, including Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Ohio, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Wyoming and West Virginia. Several additional states are currently considering similar legislation. Three states – California, Colorado and New York – enacted legislation requiring the use of a firearm retailer-specific MCC, highlighting the necessity for a national standard to protect Second Amendment financial privacy.
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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, firearms retailers, shooting ranges, sportsmen’s organizations and publishers nationwide. For more information, visit nssf.org.
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