Current:Home > NewsGun policy debate now includes retail tracking codes in California -Wealth Axis Pro
Gun policy debate now includes retail tracking codes in California
View
Date:2025-04-13 18:29:53
Laws taking effect Monday in California and Tennessee highlight the nation's stark divide over guns: While the former is looking to help banks track potentially suspicious gun purchases in hopes of thwarting mass shootings and other firearm-related homicides, the latter is seeking to prohibit the practice.
Major credit card companies as of today have to make a merchant code available for firearm and ammunition retailers to comply with California's new law to aid banks in monitoring gun sales and flag suspicious cases to authorities. The law requires retailers that primarily sell firearms to adopt the code by May 2025.
Democratic-led legislatures in Colorado and New York this year also passed measures mandating firearms codes that kick in next year.
The idea behind a gun merchant code is to detect suspicious activity, such as a person with no history of buying firearms suddenly spending large sums at multiple gun stores in a short period of time. After being notified by banks, law enforcement authorities could investigate and possibly prevent a mass shooting, gun control advocates contend.
On the other side of the issue, gun-rights advocates are concerned the retail code could impose unfair scrutiny on law-abiding gun purchasers. During the past 16 months, 17 states with Republican-controlled legislatures have passed bills banning a firearms store code or curtailing its use.
"We view this as a first step by gun-control supporters to restrict the lawful commerce in firearms," Lawrence Keane, senior vice president of the National Shooting Sports Foundation, told the Associated Press.
California's measure coincides with a separate state law in Tennessee that bans the use of firearm-specific merchant codes, with the National Rifle Association lauding it as protecting the financial privacy of gun owners.
Mastercard, Visa and American Express worked to comply with the new California measure, as CBS News reported earlier in the year. The credit card networks had initially agreed to implement a standalone code for firearm sellers, but put that effort on hold after objections from gun-rights advocates.
Credit cards are used to facilitate gun crimes all across America, according to Guns Down America, which argues at retail codes could prevent violence stemming from cases of straw purchases, gun trafficking and mass casualty events.
A report by the nonprofit advocacy cited eight mass shootings that possibly could have been prevented, including the Aurora, Colorado, movie theater shooting and the Pulse Nightclub shooting in Orlando, Florida, because each perpetrator used credit cards to mass arsenals in a short period of time.
U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy last week decried gun violence to be an escalating public health crisis, with more than 48,000 Americans killed with firearms in 2022.
—The Associated Press contributed to this report.
- In:
- Gun Control
Kate Gibson is a reporter for CBS MoneyWatch in New York, where she covers business and consumer finance.
veryGood! (288)
Related
- Will the 'Yellowstone' finale be the last episode? What we know about Season 6, spinoffs
- Man dies after being shot in face by fellow bird hunter in Iowa
- His 3,600 mile, Washington-to-Florida run honored vets. But what he learned may surprise you.
- Hip flexor muscles are essential for everyday mobility. Here's how to stretch them properly.
- US wholesale inflation accelerated in November in sign that some price pressures remain elevated
- 'None that are safe': Colorful water beads are child killers so ban them, lawmaker says
- Inmates burn bedsheets during South Carolina jail riot
- Stephen A. Smith says Aggies should hire Deion Sanders, bring Prime Time to Texas A&M
- Stamford Road collision sends motorcyclist flying; driver arrested
- Starbucks Workers United calls for walkouts, strike at hundreds of stores on Red Cup Day
Ranking
- SFO's new sensory room helps neurodivergent travelers fight flying jitters
- Lutz is good on second chance with 36-yard field goal in Broncos’ 24-22 win over Bills
- What stores are open on Black Friday 2023? See hours for Walmart, Target, Macy's, more
- Arizona State athletics director Ray Anderson announces resignation
- A South Texas lawmaker’s 15
- You're First in Line to Revisit King Charles III's Road to the Throne
- Haley Cavinder commits to TCU in basketball return. Will she play this season?
- Defense digs into Manuel Ellis’ drug use at trial of Washington officers accused in man’s death
Recommendation
Trump wants to turn the clock on daylight saving time
'None that are safe': Colorful water beads are child killers so ban them, lawmaker says
Man accused of spraying officers with chemical irritant in Capitol riot makes 1st court appearance
Judge gives Oregon State, Washington State full control of Pac-12 Conference
Finally, good retirement news! Southwest pilots' plan is a bright spot, experts say
Video purports to show Israeli-Russian researcher kidnapped in Iraq
Lutz is good on second chance with 36-yard field goal in Broncos’ 24-22 win over Bills
El Salvador slaps a $1,130 fee on African and Indian travelers as US pressures it to curb migration