‘An Assault on the 2nd Amendment’: Over 100 Republicans Express Concern Over Card Companies Labeling Gun Sales

More than 100 Republicans in a letter expressed concern over the decision of several credit card giants to establish a new specific merchant code for firearms dealers, calling the effort “an assault on the Second Amendment.”

Earlier this month, the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), a Switzerland-based group that sets and monitors quality standards for industries of all types, confirmed that one of its subcommittees had voted to establish a new merchant category code (MCC) for firearms, which previously fell into the “general merchandise” category.

Following the decision by the influential body Visa, one of the largest debit and credit card companies, adopted the change.

“Following ISO’s decision to establish a new merchant category code, Visa will proceed with next steps, while ensuring we protect all legal commerce on the Visa network in accordance with our long-standing rules,” Visa said in a statement.

The National Rifle Association (NRA) denounced the change at the time, calling it an erosion of Second Amendment rights.

“The decision to create a firearm-specific code is nothing more than a capitulation to anti-gun politicians and activists bent on eroding the rights of law-abiding Americans, one transaction at a time,” an NRA spokesperson said.

Now, a coalition of more than 100 Republicans led by House Republican Caucus Chairwoman Elise Stefanik (D-N.Y.) are demanding answers from Visa over the move in a letter addressed to Visa CEO Alfred Kelly (pdf). The Republican signatories echoed the NRA’s condemnation of the move as anti-Second Amendment.

“We write you today with grave concern regarding your implementation of a new firearm-specific Merchant Category Code (MCC),” the letter opened. “This implementation follows an equally concerning decision by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) to create this MCC, which is an assault on the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding American citizens.”

In the letter, Stefanik noted

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