To prohibit States from prohibiting or otherwise deterring the usage of any merchant category code established by the International Organization for Standardization, including codes that identify firearm merchants and ammunition merchants.
About This Bill
Committee
Latest Action · February 14, 2024
Referred to the House Committee on Financial Services.
The Identify Gun Stores Act would prevent states from blocking or discouraging the use of merchant category codes that identify gun and ammunition sellers, which are classification systems established by an international standards organization. The bill essentially overrides state authority to restrict how firearm retailers are tracked or categorized in financial transactions. This legislation would affect states that have attempted to create special merchant codes for gun dealers, as well as gun retailers and financial institutions that process their transactions. The bill contains no specific funding allocations or implementation timeline, but grants the federal Attorney General authority to sue states that violate the prohibition. The measure addresses an ongoing debate over whether merchant category codes should be used to monitor firearm purchases, with proponents arguing the codes help with financial oversight and critics contending they infringe on gun rights.
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