On Tuesday, Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) called out three major credit card companies over their decision to separate gun-related purchases from other transactions made with their payment cards.
To recap, the Associated Press reported this week that Visa said on Saturday that it will start separately categorizing sales made on their payment methods at gun shops. The report described this as a “major win” for those in favor of gun control, claiming it will “help better track suspicious surges of gun sales that could be a prelude to a mass shooting.” Mastercard and American Express said they would categorize these types of sales as well.
Townhall site Bearing Arms noted that this came after New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) urged credit card companies to “do their part” to stop gun violence.
Everyone needs to do their part to combat gun violence. @AmericanExpress, @Mastercard & @Visa should categorize firearm purchases & flag suspicious activity – just like they do for millions of other transactions.
— Governor Kathy Hochul (@GovKathyHochul) September 7, 2022
Together we can help stop gun trafficking & keep New Yorkers safe.
Bearing Arms also noted that the CEO of Amalgamated Bank claims this move by credit card companies “answers the call of millions.”
In a letter to the CEOs of Visa, Mastercard and American Express, Hawley explained how this move “attempts to undermine the Second Amendment’s protections” and that the policy is “ripe for abuse.”
The big three credit card companies say they will start tracking gun purchases, making it easier to track gun owners - and to stop sales. Big threat to Second Amendment rights. I want to know from the corporations why they capitulated to the anti-2A lobby pic.twitter.com/lr9tdQPlZj
— Josh Hawley (@HawleyMO) September 13, 2022
I write to express serious concern with your decision to separately categorize gun-related purchases from other retail transactions made with your payment cards so that firearm purchases can be more easily tracked,” Hawley wrote, before outlining how the policy targets law-abiding Americans.
Too often, companies have abused their market power to target the constitutional rights of conservatives and others with minority viewpoints. Big Tech companies systematically deplatformed those who sought to discuss the efficacy of masks and vaccines or raise concerns about the integrity of our elections. The crowdfunding platform GoFundMe blocked donations to the Canadian “Freedom Rally” trucker convoy. And WePay, a payment processor subsidiary of JPMorgan Chase – the largest bank in the United States – refused to do business with Missouri conservatives seeking to host an event with Donald Trump, Jr. Your proposal to track firearm-related purchases further threatens Americans who are simply exercising their constitutional rights.
The Second Amendment is clear: the right of the people to keep and bear arms is guaranteed to law-abiding citizens and “shall not be infringed.” Whether this infringement is by the federal government or powerful corporations seeking to ostracize citizens for exercising their rights, I will oppose all attempts to undermine the Second Amendment’s protections.
Visa, Mastercard, American Express, and other payment card companies should not distinguish lawful firearm-related purchases from other retail purchases. Americans have had enough of massive companies using their market power to drive ordinary people out of the public square. These practices must end.
Julio reported this month how Texas gubernatorial candidate Beto O'Rourke, who is running against Texas' Republican Governor Greg Abbott, had called for credit card companies to "cut off the sales of weapons of war today" when he was running for president in 2019.
Banks and credit card companies must:
— Beto O'Rourke (@BetoORourke) September 12, 2019
1?Refuse to take part in the sale of assault weapons.
2?Stop processing transactions for gun sales online & at gun shows without background checks.
3?Stop doing business with gun & ammo manufacturers who produce or sell assault weapons
In 2019, Visa CEO Alfred Kelly told CNBC that it would continue to “facilitate” gun purchases as long as it's legal to do so.
“We are guided by the federal laws in a country, and our job is to create and to facilitate fair and secure commerce,” Kelly told the outlet. The came after reports broke that payment platforms Square and PayPal do not allow their services to be used for gun sales.
Kelly added that lawmakers “need to do their job” when it comes to guns and that “if we start to get in the mode of being legislators it's’ a very slippery slope.”
“We shouldn’t be determining what’s right or wrong in terms of people’s purchases,” he said at the time.