On Thursday, The North State Journal posted an article about a bill introduced in the North Carolina House of Representatives that would prevent credit card companies from tracking gun and ammunition purchases.

The article reports:

A bill filed in the North Carolina House seeks to block credit card companies from attaching flags or codes to firearm and ammunition purchases. 

House Bill 564, Second Amendment Financial Privacy Act, was filed earlier this month by Reps. Reece Pyrtle (R-Rockingham), Edward Goodwin (R-Chowan) and Charles Miller (R-Brunswick). Joining the primary sponsors of the bill is House Speaker Tim Moore (R-Kings Mountain).  

If enacted, the bill would amend current statutes by adding a new article to prohibit financial institutions from using a firearm code in connection with payment card transactions involving a firearms retailer in the state and from knowingly maintaining a record of persons in the state who own firearms. 

“No financial institution shall knowingly maintain a record of individuals residing in this State who own firearms,” according to the bill.  

The measure would also allow the state’s attorney general to assess civil penalties of up to $10,000 for each violation after notice is given and a hearing is held. There are also civil actions individuals can take with the same penalty limit for each violation plus attorneys fees and court costs. The civil actions would have a three-year statute of limitations. 

The bill cites merchant codes (MCC) created for firearms retailers by the Switzerland-based International Organization for Standardization in September 2022. 

There is no reason for the government to know which citizens have guns or ammunition and what kind of each they have. This is a definite infringement of our Second Amendment rights, and the bill needs to pass to stop any tracking immediately.